The Annulments
by Instant Noodler
Summary: Making that commitment to her is making a choice to give up other choices. Sesshomaru should have known this better than anyone else. All men make mistakes, but married men learn about them just a little bit sooner.
1. A Fairytale No More

I'm so used to writing InuYasha and Kagome romances; now I'm trying something new by exploring the relationship between our favourite Sesshomaru and Rin! Relationships won't always be perfect; Kodak moments don't last forever (pun totally intended.) This story came to me when I was reading a really sad excerpt a friend sent me last night.

I wanted to do a tribute to the online story and in a way I wanted to write my own interpretation to it. The first chapter is very similar to the original story (in fact, I used it as a reference and decided to keep key lines from the original story because they were just so... poignant) but having that been said I'm not intending to infringe on copyrights and I'm certainly not taking credit for it. I would love to cite it but the authorship of this story is unknown.

I don't think I need to disclaim anything here. It's just so obvious I don't have the ownership over any of the characters from our favourite anime series either!

Well, I think I'm going to change my style up a bit with this story... you know? Change is good.

* * *

She was adroit at the chopping board. Each pepper was sliced perfectly into the same thickness. With the flicker of the gas, the stove lit with blue fire and she gingerly placed the pan on the fire to preheat. It had been a long day - she had spent the entire morning cleaning the tatami flooring of the bedrooms and washed all of the delicate laundry by hand. It was just a typical day in the life of Rin Takahashi. As a faithful wife, she had fulfilled her uxorial duties from cleaning and caring for her husband. She attended to his every need. When she married him, she gave up her budding career to start a family. Instead of trading stocks at the Tokyo Stock Exchange and watching the Nikkei index, she was now bartering at the produce markets and browsing through supermarket promotional advertisements on a weekly basis.

Rin glanced at the clock once again: 6:45 pm. She was expecting her husband to be back from work any moment now. For some odd reason today, he was late. Rin lifted the simmering pot of miso soup from the stove and poured the soup into each bowl. She laid down two pairs of chopsticks and set the small dishes of daikon radish and tsukudani salted fish on the dinner table. Those were Sesshomaru's two favorite side dishes; Rin never forgot to prepare them for him.

"Rin."

Rin turned to see her husband stepping into the house; she flashed a bright smile across her face as she always had. She was always so glad to see him. Her face bloomed. Rin took off her apron, set it aside, and approached her husband and tried to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

He crouched down to untie his shoelaces, dodging the kiss.

Rin cringed but she recollected herself. Nevertheless she was hurt.

"Welcome home, honey. How was your day?" Rin tried to engage her husband in a conversation while helping him take off his light autumn jacket and accepting his briefcase from his hands. She never brought her eyes to his. Instead, she kept her head low and helped him get settled before dinner.

He said nothing to her. His face was cold and stoic. Rin's heart sank - she knew what was to come.

"I made unagi for you today," Rin tried to ease the atmosphere between them but her effort failed miserably.

* * *

**Sesshomaru's Point of View.**

When I finally came home after a long day at work, Rin was there to greet me. She had already made dinner as usual and she made my favorite dishes, as usual. Our days were nothing but mundane routines.

We ate in silence for we had long before run out of things to talk about. We no longer had anything in common. It was like we were strangers living under the same roof engaged in the same daily routines and nothing else. Nothing. The fire was gone; the romance was dead, and love? What love?

I need to tell her; I met with the lawyer today.

I put down my chopsticks and slowly grabbed her hands into mine. It was so unnatural. Her hands were clammy and frozen cold. She was shaking.

I could see the pain in her eyes; her usual warm and exuberant chocolate eyes were now filled with anguish. At that moment, I didn't know how to begin. I had been planning this for a while now; why couldn't I say the words? The cat got my tongue; I was lost for words. I've been obsessing this for weeks now; I should tell her. I really, really shouldn't drag this out for too long.

After some time, I finally mustered enough strength to begin. I stared steadily into her eyes.

"I want a divorce."

My voice was tranquil. I've finally said it. She probably had braced herself because when those four words came out of my mouth, she only stared at me blankly like she had already expected it. She must have, it wasn't the first day our marriage was falling apart.

There was an eerie silence between us. She winnowed her tiny hands out of mine and brought the bowl of miso soup to her lips. I waited for her to finish the bowl of soup before she began again.

"Why?" she asked softly.

Her calm disposition scared me. I was expecting her to have a fit. Her reaction only made me feel guilty.

I didn't want to answer her question. It was a rhetorical question. She knew why I wanted a divorce and so did I. I didn't think it was necessary for me to explain myself any further. Then, she did something I had never expected her to do. Rin stood up and stared sternly at me. I've never heard so much conviction in her words.

"You're not the man who I thought I loved," she raised her voice at me, slamming the bowl onto the table. Rin had never done anything like this. She left the table. For the first time in our marriage, she left the dishes on the table after dinner.

I sat in the dining room for some time until the sun set and there was no more sunlight pouring into the windows. It was dusk. I got up and grabbed my briefcase that was beside the door and stepped into our bedroom. She was sitting by the window, curled up into a ball and whimpering in tears. I should give her a definite answer but I couldn't. How would I even begin? I no longer loved her. In fact, there was nothing I felt towards her other than pity. I pitied her. I'm now in love with some else. I love Sara Asano. Sara was a flutist for the Nippon National Philharmonic. I met her at the company's annual gala a year ago. When I first laid my eyes on her, I knew I had to have her.

* * *

_I am only doing this to please my father. Believe me, I would much rather be somewhere else right now. Anywhere but here. This was pathetic. My wife, Rin was back at her mother's place to take care of my ill in-laws. I'm just here for the food so I didn't have to cook. Catering at the company gala was always spectacular._

_I sipped my champagne and felt the fizzy alcohol tease my tongue. I was drinking to my misery and boredom. I was wasting my life here; I surveyed the premises to amuse myself with something interesting, then suddenly there she was. Young and beautiful in a low cut black floor-length gown. She was stunning. I felt a sudden peak of interest arousing me. It was pure lust and I knew it._

_I took a few steps towards her and grabbed her hand firmly into mine. My gaze never left her stunning gray eyes. I slowly brought her hand to my lips._

_"I believe I have just met an angel who has just fallen from the heavens," my voice was reassuring and confident as I began. I was going to seduce her with my charm._

_"I'm sorry, I'm not interested," she stared back at me with a sexy smirk across those plump lips._

_A woman with a little feisty edge? I liked it. I knew I had to have her in my bed that night. I, the great Sesshomaru Takahashi always had it my way._

* * *

_Her body was below mine. My fingers were intertwined in her long brown tresses._

_"Sess... h...o... maru..." she cried my name. I felt my insatiable hunger fulfilled for the very first time. Her body was trembling; her pants were heavy and rapid._

_My wife could no longer fulfill my appetite, only Sara could. That was the first night of my yearlong affair with Sara Asano._

* * *

Rin had lost my heart to Sara.

"Here," I handed the thick Manila envelope to my wife without looking down at her. I just held it before her with my right hand as I tucked my left hand in the pocket of my suit pants.

"What's this?" she looked up to me curiously and grabbed it from me with hands.

"Open it," I began. "It's the divorce papers. You can have the car, our savings account with the 60 million yen, the house, and 25% share of Takahashi Corporation."

It was the least I could do for Rin since I am telling her that I wanted to end our five-year marriage. I didn't need any of the money; I'm giving all of it to her as compensation. I pitied her. I pitied her for all the unnecessary energy she had put into our marriage. I pitied her effort to patch up our torn relationship. I pitied her for all those time she had wasted being my wife. I really wanted to make it up to her but there was nothing I could do other than to give her money. I can't reciprocate everything emotionally she had sacrificed because I love Sara and not her.

"Who do you think I am, Sesshomaru?" she began yelling. Rin never yelled. I had never heard her yell out once at me for the fourteen years we had known each other. "I don't need any of this! You think I'm in it for the money? Take it… take it all away. I don't want the money!"

She surprised me once again as she tore open the envelope and began ripping the divorce papers out page by page. She bit her lips as she used all of her energy to tear the fifty pages of document into tiny pieces that were now accumulated on the floor. Tears poured down her face like a waterfall.

I did nothing but to stand there and watch.

It was catharsis for the both of us. I had faked my emotions in front of her for so long, I've cheated and lied to her for so long... Now, it was all coming together and making sense. I admitted to adultery - I now had nothing to hide from her anymore.

Since when did I fall out of love with her? I once promised her that only death would do us apart and now I wanted nothing more than a way out of our marriage.

* * *

I woke up in the morning and found her side of the bed untouched and empty. Where was this woman?

I rolled out of bed and threw on a cardigan sweater. I roamed down the halls to find her in the study scribing away. She looked up at me; her gaze was begging me to approach her and so I did.

"Here are my divorce conditions, Sesshomaru," she held the page out for me to see. I glanced at her pristine writing. "I want two months. Just two more months before we finalize the divorce. During these two months, I want us to live as normally as we can, together."

"Rin..." I turned my attention away from the paper with the two conditions to look at her. Why didn't she want anything else? She could have gotten so much more out of this marriage. If it were any other woman, she would have driven me to the ground with her excessive financial demands. But Rin wasn't any other woman.

"I'm not finished yet," she continued as she recollected her conditions before I interrupted her. "Remembered how you used to rock me in your arms as you watched me sleep? I want you to do that; I want you to hold me in your arms every single night for the next two months."

I perked my eyebrow and gawked at her with a perplexed and bewildered expression. I have never heard of anything more bizarre in my life. Yes, I was used to Rin's odd requests... but this? What the hell would that do for us?

"Rin... I..."

"I only have two conditions. They are the only two things I ask of you from our marriage. Do you agree to the conditions?"

That was true. I pitied her. The vulnerability on her face made me weak; I didn't have the heart to turn down her two simple requests.

"I do."

* * *

Remember Sara Asano? The princess from episode 133? How appropriate.


	2. Taking Back My Love

_"One advantage of marriage is that, when you fall out of love with him or he falls out of love with you, it keeps you together until you fall in again."_  
- Judith Viorst

* * *

"I do."

Her face suddenly brightened; a burst of vitality returned to her. Those two simple words made her so happy. Just those two simple words. Rin slipped off her oversized white cardigan sweater and began making her way to the kitchen.

"I'll make you breakfast," she turned around to give him another smile.

* * *

As soon as he said those two words, he began to regret it. Now he was agonizing over his stupidity and rash agreement to Rin's conditions in their divorce. To be honest, Rin's conditions were easier on him financially than what he was willing to offer her. Emotionally? It was draining him. When he looked at his wife, he felt nothing towards her. Nothing. Rin was naturally beautiful but after they had gotten married, she no longer made an effort to embellish herself. She really didn't have a reason to glamorize herself; she was a housewife who stayed at home to cook and clean all day. He needed excitement in his life.

_'I do? What the hell was I thinking? Two months... Sara isn't going to like this.'_

He tapped the steering wheel of his Lexus while waiting for the traffic light to change. He watched the people crossing hastily on the Tokyo streets. The morning traffic was terrible. It was a nightmare. Well, it was nothing compared to what he would have to face once Sara has a fit over his delayed divorce from his wife. Dammit. He brought his right hand up to loosen his tie but stopped before tugging on it. The truth was, it wasn't tight at all and he didn't have a reason to adjust it. Rin had tied it for him this morning and the knot was perfect. He couldn't remember the last time she had tied his ties. She used to tie them for him but after his many solo business trips he had gotten so used to tying his ties himself that their morning ritual had died.

He felt the knot again; Rin's full Windsor knot was better than his sloppy knots. Out of the blues, he felt warm and fuzzy.

_'Rin...'_

That was a strange sensation to him. She suddenly appeared in his mind. He couldn't remember the last time he had thought of her during the day. It seemed to be so long ago. He wasn't used to her invading his mind like this; it was almost foreign to him.

_Honk. Honk._

The honking of the cars behind him snapped him out of his trance. Sesshomaru raised his head to look at the rear mirror; the angry drivers behind him were making a point to him. He turned his attention to the traffic; the lights had long turned green and he was obstructing the busy morning traffic.

_'Dammit. What's wrong with me?'_

In frenzy, he stepped on the gas pedal and steered the car ahead. He made a point to actively block his wife from his head for the rest of his drive.

"Takahashi-san?" the garage's door operator smiled at him when he caught the sight of the chief executive officer's convertible driving into the doors of the underground garage.

"Morning, Hattori," Sesshomaru smiled back at him.

Poor Hattori was startled; he had been on this job for over three years now. Although he had tried to smile at Sesshomaru every morning the CEO had never returned his cordiality. Something was different about him this morning, but why? He gave the CEO a respectful nod and opened the door.

Sesshomaru found himself smiling ear to ear this morning, he didn't know why. Perhaps it was because he had finally expressed his wishes of getting a divorce to Rin. He no longer had anything to hide; a burden had lifted from his shoulders. Was that why?

_'Or was it that Rin tied your tie this morning? What am I thinking? She also helped you put on matching cufflinks this morning... Ugh. No more thinking about your soon to be ex-wife.'_

_Ding._

He stepped out of the elevator and made his way down the bright hallway. His office was the one on the top floor and all the way down the hall - the last room. He stood in front of his door for a moment; he could smell the lingering musky scent of her perfume. His eyes lit up with excitement.

_'Sara.'_

He had a big smirk on his face as he pushed the doors open.

"Good morning, Kaede," he nodded at his secretary. The elderly woman knew that his mistress was in his office. She gave him a nod but furrowed her brows as he looked away from her. Kaede was disgusted. Her boss had a faithful and brilliant wife at home waiting for him but he was committing adultery with that shameless Sara Asano. She was a gold-digger and everyone could see it except for Sesshomaru. Oh how stereotypical. It was almost like an archetype of a bad drama.

Sesshomaru grinned as he closed his office door behind him.

There she was - barely clothed, sexy and irresistible on his cherry wood office table. She had her waist long hair straightened. Her bangs were neatly brushed and trimmed right above her seductive eyes. She raised an eyebrow and her sultry voice echoed in his spacious office.

"You're late, Sesshomaru. How should I punish you?"

Sesshomaru leered; Sara was tempting the beast within him. He tossed his briefcase aside and disposed his blazer. Sara approached him, walking with perfectly model like swagger and grabbed him by his gray Italian silk tie. She slowly brought her long legs up to straddle his waist and nipped his jaw line.

"Did you tell her about us?"

"Yes," he replied, his breath quickened and his voice was desperate with need.

"Did she sign the paper?"

"I added more conditions. I'm giving her the house, the cars, all of the savings in our joint account, and 25% of the shares of the company," Sesshomaru stated as a matter of fact. "But she's still considering."

Although Rin didn't want of his assets, he was still going to give them to her after the divorce. He may have been a despicable man without ethics or a conscious, or morals for that matter but he would never financially neglect his wife or soon to be ex-wife. Money was no object to him.

The blood in Sara's face drained. He felt her hands grow ice cold and her temper changing.

_'He did what? The house? The collection of luxury cars? The savings? Most of all, he is giving up 25% of the company? He only holds 51% of the total shares and he is giving her almost half of them?'_

What did Rin do to him? Was Sesshomaru out of his mind?

He could feel that something was wrong; Sara let go of his tie and turned her back against him. She was furious.

"What's wrong, Sara?"

"You love her more than you love me," she muttered. "You're giving everything to her."

"Just most of my assets," he began before stepping a few steps towards her and embracing her from behind. "But you have me and my heart all to yourself. Isn't that enough?"

He nuzzled her nape and kissed her bare shoulders. He pressed his whole body against her curves and felt her steady heartbeat. She reached for his long silvery hair with her long flutist fingers. Before Sesshomaru could realize, Sara turned around to untie his tie.

The full Windsor knot had become undone.

She threw the tie carelessly aside.

* * *

"Kaede oba-chan?" Rin greeted the elderly woman with jocularity when she came into the office.

Kaede's eyes were suddenly filled with surprise and delight when she saw the young woman walking through the doors with a bag of homemade bento and refreshments. Rin used to frequent Sesshomaru's office but in recent years, her visits were shorter and less frequent. In fact, Kaede couldn't recall the last time she had seen Rin. Rin had lost a lot of weight, the hollows of her cheeks were now more apparent but she was still the beautiful and pleasant young woman Kaede admired.

"I brought Sesshomaru lunch. I made a bento for you too!" Rin placed the bag gingerly on Kaede's desk and took out a rectangular cherry wood box. The container itself was beautiful. "I also have chrysanthemum tea."

"This is spectacular, Rin," Kaede lifted the cover from the box; there was another stainless steel container within the box. She removed the cover from the second container and gawked at the bento. It was meticulously designed. Rin had crafted flowers from carrots and leaves from cucumbers. The rice balls were stacked neatly in a pile into little rabbit shapes. The fish were in a neat row and... oh... the radish. The radish pieces were carefully arranged and cut to the exact sizes and shapes. Kaede was astonished. She was speechless. It was perfect. Not only was it visually pleasing it also smelled heavenly.

"I also made blueberry and blackberry desserts with yogurt, would you like some?" Rin politely offered the glass container to Kaede with both hands.

"Yes, of course," Kaede was delighted; Rin was really something. Wow.

"Is Sesshomaru in his office? I have his lunch as well," Rin gestured to the other bento in her bag and looked at Kaede curiously.

Kaede's heart sank. Sara Asano and Sesshomaru had been in there for the whole morning. She didn't know if Rin knew about his affair or not. Kaede didn't have the heart to tell the poor woman that her husband had been cheating on her for a while now. Kaede couldn't fathom why Sesshmaru would commit such a heinous crime against his perfect wife. She really deserved to know the truth. But she didn't want to be the one to tell her.

"Takahashi-san is in... a meeting right now," Kaede told Rin a half-truth. "He's in his office but he'll be done... hopefully soon. Why don't you take a seat and make yourself comfortable?"

Rin smiled at Kaede and nodded before finding herself a nice seat. She surveyed his office; it had changed a lot since she had last been in here. She was the chief accountant at Takahashi Pharmaceuticals many years ago. The once light green walls were now glazed with a fresh layer of egg white paint and the hard plastic chairs were now replaced with comfortable sofa chairs.

_'What a change.'_

The doorknob of Sesshomaru's office door turned and an attractive trim woman walked out first. Rin cringed. The woman was about to lean into Sesshomaru before Rin stood up and called out to him.

"Anata," Rin smiled at her husband. That woman must have been Sara Asano. Rin may have been a housewife but she wasn't stupid or completely oblivious. Asano was the tabloid's favorite girl and apparently now her husband was also now the paparazzi's favorite prey.

"So this is the Missus?" Sara scoffed as she took one more look at Rin. She had seen pictures of Rin but the pictures had not done her justice. Sara felt uneasy at the sight of her competition.

Sesshomaru stood there; his knees buckled. He knew that Rin knew about Sara. At first he had denied it but later on he knew that she had probably figured it out and he no longer made a point to hide his affair. Last night, he proposed a divorce; he didn't have to hide his mistress anymore from his wife but why was he so afraid?

Was he afraid of hurting Rin? Yes. Yes he was. Rin was a strong woman but he had made her frail. She had underwent a terrible weight loss and now she was so vulnerable because of him. Sesshomaru gulped hard.

He brought his eyes to meet Rin's gaze.

Sara rolled her eyes and walked out of his office, ignoring Kaede as she strutted out the doors. Kaede cringed at the arrogant woman upon returning to her task.

Rin surveyed Seshomaru; his hair was disheveled. She knew about his affair months ago but it still hurt her to see him not even making an effort to explain himself. Her gaze stopped at his tie. The knot... it wasn't the one she had tied for him this morning. Did it happen? Yes, it did. Rin's heart wrenched. He was her one and only but she wasn't his. Rin tried to conjure up something to break the silence but what could she say? She felt the air sucked out from her lungs.

All she could picture in her head was a nude Sara groaning under her husband.

_'No, Rin. Rin, be strong. Be a lady... Happy thoughts... Sesshomaru actually loves you... deep down... He loves you.'_

She was lying to herself but she had told herself the lie so many times that now it was convincing. She gulped down her tears.

"Hey, I brought you lunch. Are you hungry?"

Sesshomaru looked at his wife. She did her hair today; she made an effort to put on makeup. Not that she needed any but she looked especially beautiful today. She was in a silk dress... and even sexy stiletto heels.

Rin's hair was in voluminous curls half pinned up with two sparkling white Swarovski crystal hairclips. Her brown eyes were emphasized with soft pink shadows and the light peach gloss on her lips made them look simply delicious. Her figure hugging long sleeved silver dress draped just on top of her knees. And at her feet? The black fish-toed pumps made her bodyline lyrical and elegant. Sesshomaru was breathless... this was what Rin had looked like the first time she walked into his office eight years ago.

* * *

_"Takahashi-san?" the young woman knocked on his door. Her voice was mellifluous with a tint of confidence._

_"Come in," Sesshomaru was looking at the financial reports; his eyes had not left the page for hours._

_She graced him with his presence and gently placed the white folder on his desk with both of her hands. She studied the handsome man for a while; he looked very familiar. Today was Rin's first day; this was her first time meeting their CEO._

_"Thanks, you can go now," he took a quick glance at her to thank her. He knew that today was the first day of their chief accountant at work. He wanted to go and greet her but he was just too busy. But at the sight of her face, that quick glance became a long gawk._

_"R... in... Rin..."_

_"Sess... homaru?"_

_She had grown into a beautiful woman. She was now gorgeous. She looked different than when she was 6 years old... but she was still the same Rin..._

_He was now older and more handsome... Was this the same boy next door who used to bring her lemon tea every day after school? Was he still the same boy she used to sneak rice balls to whenever his father punished him to kneel outside without dinner after he picked up fights to protect her?_

* * *

_'Why do I still remember this?'_

Rin twisted her wedding band and engagement ring while she watched Sesshomaru in silence. This was what she had worn on her first day to work many, many years ago. She still remembered - she and Kagome had shopped for hours before finding this perfect ensemble for her. The only things different about her getup were the rings.

"Yeah... I.. am," he replied. "Why don't you come in?"

"What?" Rin didn't know what he was saying.

"You brought me lunch right? I'm... hungry."

"Oh..."

She followed him into his office and sat down. She could smell the heavy scent of Sara's musky perfume mixed with sweat and... ... Copulation.

_'Sesshomaru actually loves you... happy thoughts... Happy thoughts, Rin...'_

But the truth was that he didn't love her anymore. They say that the sense of smell was the most poignant. The smell of Sesshomaru's sweat mixed with that of Sara's pierced Rin's brain. It was just too poignant.

They were fornicating.

She was a strong woman but she was still a woman. She just couldn't tolerate her husband's antics anymore. Her throat burned; her eyes were blurry. She couldn't breath in any of their scents in anymore. She was going insane.

She wanted to look away from his eyes but the new sight whammed her across the face - a pair of lacy panties was discarded on the floor beside his office chair.

The panties pulled her last string.

It pinched Rin's nerve.

It hurt.

So much.

So much.

Too much.

Her mind was blank.

Her emotional pain became visceral. Her inner organs hurt.

She was going to be sick.

A nauseating feeling pulsated through her veins.

What was she so stupid?

She had lost his heart to her.

_'Stupid Rin, you're so stupid. I hate you, Sesshomaru.'_

She looked at him with terror in her eyes.

"I... I..." he paused; he couldn't justify himself. "Rin... listen... I..."

There was a silence in the stiff air. No, he couldn't explain himself. He had no excuses, no justifications.

He was a bad man.

A cheater.

A liar.

A monster.

"Save it."

With those two words, she dropped the box of carefully made bento. She had spent hours making it with love and care. She had put her heart into it. She wanted to save her marriage, she really did. She thought she could win his heart back. She thought in two months she could win back his love from that unworthy woman.

_'I'm so stupid.'_

She took a few steps back, shifting her body in a defensive stance. Sesshomaru just watched her, he didn't know what she was going to do next.

_'I can't... I can't stand this anymore... He... I... They...'_

She bolted out of his doors.

* * *

Rin passed Kaede and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry Kaede oba-chan, I must leave now."

Kaede wanted to stop her but she knew Rin needed to get away from all of this.

Something clicked in him.

All hell had just broken loose and with it, ration found a way back to his head.

She left.

He had never thought that she would leave him.

Just like that.

Gone.

He felt empty in side.

So lonely.

All this time, he had taken her for granted.

_'I thought she would never leave me. Ever.'_

Sesshomaru's world came crushing down on him.

It tumbled down on him. He felt so justified in his affair with Sara. For some reason he felt like he was the victim of their failing relationship. But from the moment he had laid his eyes on Rin in his office just moments ago made him realize that Rin was the victim, not him. He was the one who decided to give up on their marriage.

He was.

He was the cheater. Rin had done nothing but to love him unconditionally. After a few miscarriages she had given up her career to stay at home to bear him an heir because she had always known he wanted children. Never once had she complained about all of his travelling. She had always called him and took care of his paperwork and problems from work while he was away.

He was her world; she did everything to appease him.

_'What have I done?'_

It was at that moment he realized that it was all of his fault. He was the one who had pushed her away. What he had with Sara was lust, just pure lust. Now he understood why he couldn't bring himself to call Sara anything but her name. She wasn't his love.

But Rin was.

The once decorative bento was spilt all over the hardwood floor. Sesshomaru's heart truly ached for Rin. He felt desolation and torment. What he felt wasn't pity for Rin; it was pity for himself. For Sara.

He was the one who pursued Rin. He was the idiot who stood outside of her apartment for hours in the rain begging her to see him. He was the one who made her the vow to love her and to take care of her for the rest of their lives. He was the same moron who tossed her away and cheated on her with an unworthy woman.

"Rin!" Sesshomaru dashed out after Rin. She must not have gone very far.

_'Dammit... Dammit... stupid elevator...'_

_Ding._

He hit the ground level button repetitively with his palm. Sesshomaru watched as the elevator descended from the 44th floor and pounded the walls of the elevator with his fist.

_'Rin... Rin... Rin...'_

Ding.

Sesshomaru ran out of the elevator as if his life depended on it. Well, he did. He just had an epiphany and realized that Rin was his life and he need to find her. Her face while running out of his office scared him. She looked like she was going to do something rash.

_'I hope I'm overthinking... Rin...'_

He pushed the revolving doors of his office building and stepped outside into the cool autumn air.

_'Left... or right?'_

Left. He knew Rin must have taken the train home. He might still be able to catch her at the station. It was drizzling; the hem of his suit pants was soaked as he stepped into each puddle. He didn't care. He needed to catch up to his wife.

"Out of my way!" he pushed his ways through a crowd of people at the intersection.

"Someone! Call an ambulance! Call the police! This woman's been hit!"

Sesshomaru caught the sight of the woman with his peripheral vision.

_'Rin?'_

Sesshomaru stopped dead in his tracks. The woman was Rin. His wife was lying in a puddle of her own blood on the street. The driver was calling out for help.

"Rin!"

Sesshomaru rushed to his wife's side and brushed her hair away from her bloody face. Where was she bleeding? There was blood everywhere... where was she hurt? He took her limp body into his arms and shook her. The scent of iron from her blood overwhelmed him.

"Rin! Rin!... Rin! Dammit... Rin! Honey! Wake up! Rin!"

No response.

He pressed his cheek against her temple and rocked her in his arms.

"Rin! I want you to be okay! Answer me! Love!"

Nothing.

"I've called the ambulance already; they should be here any moment now," the driver looked at Sessshomaru apologetically. "She came out of nowhere. I am so, so sorry. I'm Miroku Kouki, I'm going to be here the whole time. Here's my card."

Sesshomaru just nodded at Miroku.

_'Rin... Rin... I'm sorry... sorry... Rin... If you wake up, I'll never see Sara again. I'm sorry. No. No. No. Rin!'_

* * *

"Sir, you need to calm down. Sir! Listen to me!" the paramedic was impatient with Sesshomaru. He made it impossible for them to treat Rin. "We can't help her if you're hovering over her!"

Sesshomaru's back hit the metal walls of the ambulance. He was distraught. There was nothing he could do to help his wife. His mind was in a frenzy. He was useless. Everything had happened so fast. Just hours ago, he was committing an unforgivable sin with his mistress in his office and now his wife was dying in the back of an ambulance.

It was too rash.

He couldn't wrap his head around it.

Wasn't he the one who was asking her for a divorce just less than 24 hours ago?

But something clicked in him when she stepped into his office today and something hit him when she ran out of there too.

It just dawned on him: he needed her in his life.

He needed his wife.

He needed Rin.

Not Sara Asano, his mistress.

His wife.

His life mate.

Her.

Just.

Rin.

Her.

_'It's her.'_

_'It was her. It is her. It had always been her. It will always be her.' _

Rin. She was born a Hokkaido but she would always be a Takahashi. His wife, Rin Takahashi.

"We're almost there! Her heart had just stopped! I need 2 mg of adrenaline!"

"I'm going to administer it right to her heart!"

"No reaction! Alright, everyone stand back!"

"Clear!"

"We're losing her!"

"Clear!"

Sesshomaru just watched...

"Clear!"

"We have a pulse!"

Sesshomaru was just numb, he stared down at his hands; they were covered in her fresh blood.

"Alright, we're here! We need to set up an emergency operation. She's suffered from too much trauma to her vital organs; she's bleeding internally."

"Sir? Sir?"

Sesshomaru just looked at the paramedic wearily.

"We need you to come with us."

* * *

"Rin! Rin! Rin!" Sesshomaru ran after Rin while she was carried away on a stretcher into the hospital.

"Sir, you need to go to the register and fill the information in for the patient," the staff informed the perplexed Sesshomaru. The medical staff directed him to the department of patient affairs.

"I just need you to fill this section in for me, Sir," the nurse requested Sesshomaru and handed him the clipboard with a ball pen. "What's your relationship to the patient?"

"I'm her husband."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"Hn.."

"If you can just wait patiently; I'm sure the doctors are trying as hard as they can to help her."

"I'll be waiting outside of the operation room."

Sesshomaru made his way down to the operation room. The red light was on.

_'In operation...'_

* * *

_"Hey, are you free for dinner tonight?" Sesshomaru asked her with pleading eyes. This was silly, he didn't beg any woman like this. Women naturally all gravitated towards him instead. Now he was standing in the finance department, hovering around Rin in her small office like a big dork._

_All of the department's staff walked by and peeked at Sesshomaru and Rin through the translucent glass pane. The women giggled at the sight of their vulnerable handsome boss._

_'Rumors had it that the CEO had the fondness for the new chief accountant.'_

_"Hmm... I need to take a look at the income statement for the last quarter and I need to look at the budgeting for the next year," Rin looked up at Sesshomaru and tilted her glasses down. "I'm busy."_

_Was he getting rejected? By Rin? Now he wanted her even more. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. He went around her desk and grabbed her wrist with his firm grip._

_"Sesshomaru! What the heck are you doing?" Rin screeched and tried to winnow herself away from his reach._

_"I'm taking you out!"_

* * *

_'Twenty-two... twenty-three... twenty-four...'_

He clenched his fist; he could feel the dried layer of blood cracking against his skin. Rin had been in there for hours. He had counted the number of chairs along the hallway. There were twenty-four of them. Twenty-four plastic chairs along the wall. He was getting obsessed. There was nothing else for him to do.

* * *

_"Are you paying?" she took her glance off of the menu and was now staring at him intently._

_"No, you are!" he gave her a big grin. He was joking, of course._

_"Fine. I'll pay," Rin rolled her eyes playfully and closed the menu. She turned to the waiter and ordered, "I'll have the 24-ounce steak medium rare please."_

_"Twenty-four ounce? Are you sure you even weigh that much?" Sesshomaru flashed a silly grin at Rin and looked at the waiter. "I'll have the same please."_

_"Hey, a girl's got to eat! I can feed myself! The Nikkei just went up by 43 points today!" Rin bragged to Sesshomaru while leaning back into her chair._

_"Dammit. Again? I just shorted yesterday," Sesshomaru tried to pout but he was failing miserably; his face was not meant to display a range of various emotions._

_"Should of had a diverse portfolio, honey," Rin stuck out her tongue at Sesshomaru and giggled. "Can I recommend the TMT sector? It's doing reasonably well lately."_

_Rin took the tall can of lemon tea and brought it by her face. She loved the warm sensation of the can against her face. Sesshomaru laughed, Rin had a penchant for warm lemon tea ever since they were young. He used to warm it up for her even during the summer months. It was something he had never understood. He had never asked her about it either._

* * *

_'Why did Rin like warm lemon tea?'_

It was something he may never find out again. It was strange. He had been contemplating about getting a divorce from her for months now under Sara's excessive nagging. Never once had he sat down to think for himself. Did he really want a divorce from Rin? Did he? If he really did, he should have been relieved right now not worried to death and going crazy outside of the waiting room.

The red light shut off.

_'Rin.'_

The double doors of the operation room opened and the doctor was walking out while taking off his scrub coverall.

"Doctor! Is my wife alright?" Sesshomaru's voice rang with urgency.

The surgeon looked at him with concern, "Her conditions are stabilized now but she's still in very critical condition. But her chance of survival is over 93%. She should be able to wake up in several hours."

"Thank you so much, doctor," Sesshomaru sighed of relief. He felt a sense of security that he had not felt for the past hours.

However, the doctor didn't seem very positive about the outcome of his patient.

"Takahashi-san, were you aware that your wife has chronic myelogenous leukemia?"

"Chronic myelo..."

"Mrs. Takahashi has leukemia, a type of terminating blood cancer."

* * *

Tada! An expedite update by popular request! Thank you so, so, so much guys for all of your support and love! I had no idea the story would be so popular. The little story that had inspired me to write this was just heart-wrenching... and so is this story.

I've received lots of compliments and comparison to one of my favorite author, Tuille and her story (which is also one of my favorite stories of all times) "Forget Me Not." Wow. I am _extremely_ honoured. Tuille is just sensational! It's so hard to live up to her excellence. She inspires us all :)

Thank you guys for your wonderful reviews. I get so excited when I see them... haha... they motivated me to write an extra long chapter to live up to your expectations. Thank you, thank you.


	3. The Beautiful Liar

I just finished my first exam yesterday! Yes! Back to studying for my next one tomorrow... after I finish another long chapter. Aw... and I vowed that I'm not updating until I'm done school... Meh. Excuse the syntax, flow, and grammar. I'm a crazy person right now as I just want to get this chapter out... hm...

* * *

"Chronic myelogenous leukemia..." Sesshomaru repeated the long-winded diagnosis once more. "Terminal blood cancer..." He felt the hair in the back of his neck bristling at the deadly combination of the key terms _terminal_ and _cancer._ Why was it her? Why was it that out of everyone she was the one to suffer? He blamed himself; why hadn't he noticed anything before? She had lost so much weight; that should have been a warning sign. Instead of recognizing the signs of the illness deteriorating his wife's health, he was too busily sneaking around with his mistress. He was a pitiful husband.

"There isn't much we can do at this moment in terms of the treatment of your wife's CML; she's already been tremendously fortunate though, I would have congratulated you, Takahashi-san if it wasn't for the unfortunate news of her leukemia," the doctor looked down at the patient file in his hands and frowned at the sight of Rin's other tests.

Sesshomaru was beyond exasperated, was there really no hope for Rin? _Wait, congratulations?_ Was the doctor mad? Congratulations for what? He hesitated for a moment to brace himself for anything the doctor may have in response before he asked the simple question, "Why?"

Doctor Arata pushed his glasses against his nose bridge one more time and stared at Sesshomaru in astonishment, was he really asking him why they couldn't start Rin on chemotherapy or α-interferon cancer treatment? Did he lack common sense? Or had he not have known about his wife's conditions? He tried to suppress the displeasure in his voice and gave the clueless man a simple answer, "She was very lucky that she didn't lose the baby. We can't start the treatments because that would hurt the fetus, unless Mrs. Takahashi would voluntarily abort the child."

Sesshomaru felt like someone had just shot him in the stomach; he was having a queasy feeling growing in his stomach. Rin was... pregnant? How did he not know any of this? He hadn't touched her ever since he began his affair with Sara; the child wasn't his. His blood boiled for a moment. She was cheating on him all this time too? With whom? Sesshomaru was exercising his double standards: he could cheat on his wife but it wasn't acceptable for her to cheat on him. He clenched his teeth in response to the wrath swelling within him.

Then it dawned on him, _'That time.'_

Three months ago, he had a small turbulence with Sara in their affair. She was threatening him that she would no longer bed him until he promised to divorce his wife and marry her.

* * *

_'Dammit, Sara,' Sesshomaru was stirring and frustrated. His mistress had just wagered a hefty gamble to play this game with him. He wasn't a force to be trifled with - the stakes she was risking were high. But the woman knew how to wrap him around her fingers._

_"That's right, Sesshomaru! It's over until you leave your wife! A proper woman like me can't be 'the other woman!' You either leave her or I'm leaving you!" Sara screamed at Sesshomaru across the living room of her apartment. A moment ago she had just pushed Sesshomaru off of her after he stalled in replying to her request. "Maybe it's because you don't want to leave her! You don't love me!"_

_Sesshomaru wasn't paying attention to Sara's words. He was enthralled by Sara's cleavage. She was wearing a short little black dress with a deep cut to reveal her assets. He advanced her slowly from behind and trailed his hands down her side and grabbed her waist in his arms. He leaned in to nip her nape._

_'Nothing works better than make up sex,' he smirked at the thought; he was undeniable._

_But something he did not expect occurred; she pushed him away. Sara pried his interlacing fingers off of her waist and kicked him in the knee. She turned around to him with a stoic face. Her dark gray eyes were filled with resentment._

_"Get out, Sesshomaru! Leave my apartment! Now!" Sara pointed to the direction of her front door and fumed at Sesshomaru. "I'm not sleeping with you until you meet with a divorce lawyer!"_

_This woman meant it; Sesshomaru didn't want to continue his attempt to seduce her any further. Yes, Sara was the one and only but she wasn't the only woman he had. He grinned and nodded. She would come back to her senses eventually. The truth was, he didn't plan to leave his wife. Rin's father, the senior Hokkaido had a significant stake in Takahashi Pharmaceuticals. In addition to his position as one of the largest shareholders, he had an alliance with many other members of the board. Sesshomaru, even as the chairman and the chief executive officer of the company, couldn't afford to lose Hokkaido's support._

_He shook his head and gave Sara another grin and showed himself to the exit of her home._

_He stepped into his house and his wife was there to greet him with the dinner ready, as usual. She hugged him around the waist and leaned into his chest. She looked up into his eyes with her warm chocolate orbs. She could smell the perfume of another woman lingering on her husband's dress shirt. It was "hers." She had suspected it for a while now - her husband's affair with the flutist from the Nippon National Philharmonic. But Rin loved Sesshomaru so much and the affair could have been just a lusty affair._

_She didn't want to overthink it or pry in his business; after all he still came home every night. Her mother's voice rang in her head, 'To be a good wife is to turn a blind eye. Never confront him until it gets so bad that he never returns home to sleep in his own bed each night.'_

_"I made you dinner, are you hungry honey?"_

_She was expecting a verbal response from him but he seized her lips with his instead. Sesshomaru felt the need to release his urges; he knew Rin would be willing to oblige to his every request. He grabbed his suitcase from her hands and threw it aside. Never breaking the kiss, he moved down her neck and shoulders._

_"Honey... I don't feel like I'm up to it; it's been a really long day," Rin pleaded softly with her tiresome voice. She had been feeling awful lately and she knew something wasn't right with her. She suspected that it might have been anemia. She was always out of breath and energy._

_Sara had rejected him; Sesshomaru wasn't going to take another "no" from another woman. He had heard her loud and clear but he chose not to respect her wishes._

_"Please?" she begged him once again._

_'Rin was playing hard to get?' Sesshomaru smirked and scooped his wife up in his arms bridal style and carried her to the bedroom. 'You can't deny me, Rin.'_

_Rin was flustered. He hadn't been this intimate with her for months now, what was wrong with him? She was bewildered and pleasantly surprised but she really didn't feel like she could meet his needs; she was fatigued. It was almost like someone pulled a plug from her or something. She felt nothing but lethargy._

_He pressed his body against hers and let out a deep moan. He wandered his hands to the small of her back and slowly lifted the white sweater and tossed it aside the bed._

* * *

How was that possible? It was just that one time. How could she have gotten pregnant? They had tried for many times in the years before but Rin had always had difficulty conceiving. What were the chances? He had completely ignored her begging and pleading and decided to bed her anyways. Did she know she had CML? This was going to complicate a lot of things with her, with her treatment... and with them. A strange sensation crept up to him and it was at that moment it dawned on him: he was going to become a father.

"Well, Takahashi-san, I must attend to my other patients now," Doctor Arata nodded at Sesshomaru once again and left him alone to ponder about the situation at hand.

"Chronic myelogenous leukemia..." he whispered to himself over and over again while sitting in the silent hall of the hospital intensive care unit. The strong scent of disinfectants lingered in the air around him as he inhaled heavily while leaning against the plastic chair. He lifted his chin to stare aimlessly at the bright ceiling lights and felt the sense of uneasiness rushing through him. It has been over six hours now and Rin was still in a coma. The doctors said her recovery was slower than expected.

He thought hard for a moment. The child must be at the end of its trimester. That was further than any of Rin's past pregnancies; she had always had the miscarriages around the 4th or 5th week.

"It's a miracle," he whispered. The child was a miracle. Not only did it survive Rin's accident just hours ago but also it was defying the odds of Rin's leukemia. His heart sank at another thought, Rin needed to get treatment right away. What was she waiting for? Did she know she had the baby? Why didn't she bother to tell him?

_'Stupid Sesshomaru, she knew about you and Sara.'_

Sesshomaru cringed and burned his face in his hands once again. He was so stupid. It was almost like he had just awakened from a year of deep slumber. This was the first time he truly felt anything emotionally. Upon the sight of Rin bathed in a pool of her blood had completely changed him. He suddenly realized what he had with Sara was a mistake. But was it too late to fix everything now?

"Takahashi-san?" A young nurse tapped his shoulders lightly and waited for Sesshomaru to response. When she had finally gotten his attention, she began once again. "Mrs. Takahashi has just awaken, I thought you'd like to know. She might need you."

"Rin..." Sesshomaru's eyes widened and he nodded at the nurse. Leaping out of his chair, he headed down the hall towards Rin's patient room. Rin was finally awake; she needed him.

"Rin!" Sesshomaru's breath was rapid from his running. Rin was awake now; her back was resting against a firm pillow. Her arms were invaded with an intravenous connected to three bags of fluids. Her fingers were clipped with various monitors tracking her heartbeat and temperature. The hospital patient gown hung loosely on her cadaverous body. Her left leg was in a heavy cast and her head was bandaged. Rin's chin was heavily bruised. She looked like she was going to blow away even if a mere light breeze blew into the room. She turned her soulless glance to Sesshomaru when he walked into the room and remained silent. She made no effort to speak up.

"Rin, thank goodness! You're finally awake. You don't know how worried I've been about you!" Sesshomaru walked towards Rin's bed and sat down by her. He reached for her face. Rin flinched away from him.

_Beep. Beep._

The heart monitor peaked for a moment. Rin gave him a look of disgust. She collected all of the energy in her body and lifted her bruised hand to her oxygen mask. She tugged the clear plastic down slowly down her chin, avoiding the bandages on her face. Rin turned her attention to her husband once again and her glance pierced through him. There was a long pause between them.

"I want a divorce," she watched his reaction but there was none. "No more conditions. I want to sever all ties from you."

"What?" He looked at her as if she was crazy. Was this the same woman who he had married? His sweet wife? Rin? Did she lose any of her memories? Did the impact of the crash do this to her?

"I want a divorce from you," she reiterated once again as if he didn't catch her the first time. "Let's pretend nothing happened between us, ever."

"Rin? Did you... Do you know who I am?" Sesshomaru asked Rin the question as if she was damaged in the head. "I'm your husband. We've been married for 6 years. I love you."

Rin gave him a despicable look, "Why would I divorce you if we are not married, Sesshomaru? You don't love me. If you did you wouldn't have had the affair with Sara Asano."

Rin's mind was as clear as day. She knew everything well. She remembered his cheating. She remembered Sara's name well. Her mind was made up and there was nothing he could do about it.

"You can't! I need to be here for you for your leukemia! We're going to fight this together!" Sesshomaru grabbed Rin's small hand and squeezed it tightly. "Our baby also needs me..."

His voice trailed off when Rin winnowed her wrist from his grasp. She looked to the curtained window; it was pitch dark outside. How long had she been asleep for? Was Sesshomaru here with her the whole time? Did he change? No. Cheaters will always be cheaters.

_'Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me, Sesshomaru.'_

"CML is treatable. I'm not afraid of it. So you've finally found out?" Rin turned her face to face her husband once again. She slowed down her speech to articulate each word clearly for him. "You do not deserve to be the child's father. You never did before. You don't deserve her now. You will never deserve her like you will never deserve me."

Her voice was full of conviction and rage. What happened to his sweet and submissive wife who brought him bento before the accident? But that was before she had seen the incriminating evidence in his office. He wanted to justify himself but he was lost for words. Justice was never on his side to begin win; he was the criminal.

"Rin... I... I've changed. Give me another chance," he tried to give her his golden puppy eyes. "I need you. I want you. Let's start this family. I'll make amends to you."

Rin shook her head and responded to him firmly, "I can't forgive you."

"Rin, I'm sorry. I know I'm not convincing here. But I promise to love you, to take care of you, to stay by your side. I'm not leaving you. Just come back to me. We can put this behind us. We can fix this. I can fix this."

He was a liar but his words were so convincing, he was a con artist. He made her believe him once. Where did that take her? Rin thought hard for a moment; she couldn't let him manipulate her like that, "You're not sorry for what happened between us. You can't make amends to me because what you've done to me is unforgivable. We're going to put this behind us by getting a divorce."

"Rin, please?"

"I must ask for you to leave now, Sesshomaru," her voice was aloof and distant. She didn't even pause to think. His words were oddly familiar to her; she was in the same situation six years ago. When she was young and naive, she believed him. But not this time, she was older and wiser.

* * *

_"Rin! Rin! Don't ignore me! I know you're up there!"_

_Sesshomaru's voice resounded outside her windows. She could hear the rocks knocking at her window but she chose not to answer him. She had finally gotten away from his haunting. Besides, it was beginning to thunder outside, a storm was looming._

_"I know you can hear me, Rin! Why won't you just listen to me? I can explain!" the young Sesshomaru pleaded to his girlfriend. She was ignoring his calls and even took an extended vacation from work. "You can't hide from me for forever! I'm going to be here. Right here until you come out!"_

_Rin rolled her eyes; she crouched down by the windowpane and slowly peaked her head above the windowsill. Sesshomaru was down there, in black sweats and a gray hoodie. He looked so handsome with his long silvery hair draping down his back. Her stomach churned at the sight of him._

_'Don't look out, Rin. When you see him, you're going to be helpless. You're not forgiving him.'_

_Rin Hokkaido had made up her mind. She was going to sever all of her ties with the man downstairs. She had caught him in the restaurant with his ex-girlfriend, Kagura Suski. It looked like they were having a romantic date; they were having such a great time laughing away._

_'Is he seeing her again?' Rin sat down and leaned against the wall and banged her head against the windowsill. 'Ouch.'_

_"I can see you by your window, Rin! I'm telling you! Let me explain! I just bumped into Kagura and decided to have lunch! It was nothing! I promise! We're just friends now, Rin!" Sesshomaru's voice was sincere and apologetic._

_'Ugh. This is embarrassing. What would the neighbors think? Sesshomaru! Stop this!'_

_"Rin! Forgive me! I love you! You! You! You! Just you! I, Sesshomaru Takahashi only love Rin Hokkaido! I love her now, I will always love her and only her!" Sesshomaru roared once again from below. He was standing outside Rin's condo apartment shouting up. All of the pedestrians on the street were staring at him. This man was crazy._

_Rin couldn't take it anymore. At this rate, she would have to move away out of embarrassment. She had to do some damage control, 'be strong, Rin.' She finally stood up and pushed her window open. She grabbed the wall beside the window and brought her head and shoulder out as far as she could. She got a good look at Sesshomaru. His eyes lit up at the sight of her face._

_"Sesshomaru Takahashi! You'd better quiet down before I call the police on you!" Rin threatened him with her serious face. She sounded annoyed but in her voice there was a hint of playfulness. She could never holder a serious front for too long._

_Sesshomaru grinned. Rin wasn't really mad; she was talking to him again. She probably had already forgiven him but she didn't know it yet. She was going to forgive him; it was in her nature to forgive. Besides, whose relationship didn't have a conflict? This was their first fight, ever. He had bumped into his ex-girlfriend Kagura two days ago. They had separated on good terms and now she was engaged and getting married to her perfect man in just two weeks. They had a casual lunch and had a lot of fun talking about old times. Rin had probably taken it the wrong way. Sesshomaru blamed himself; he and Kagura did look a bit too friendly. But honestly, they were like... "bros." He felt nothing but platonic liking towards Kagura._

_He loved Rin and only Rin. He didn't realize how much he needed her when she didn't answer his phone calls or open her doors for him for the past two days. He couldn't function without her. He needed Rin in his life._

_"Fine! I'm not screaming anymore! But I'll be down here until you come out and forgive me!" Sesshomaru shouted once again and stated his position firmly._

_Rin rolled her eyes. There was no way he was going to stand down there. She felt a heavy drop of rain on her forehead. It was beginning to storm. She had already forgiven Sesshomaru. Now that she thought about it, she was overreacting._

_'Silly Rin,' she thought to herself._

_Rin looked at Sesshomaru once again. She would let her cool off a bit. Besides, she needed some space from her boyfriend. It would soon start to storm and he would probably go seek shelter. It was a thunderstorm for heaven's sake. Sesshomaru may be desperate but he wasn't stupid. Rin had a mischievous grin on her face and she pulled herself back to close the window._

_"What to do now?" she wondered and turned her attention to a classics on her bookshelf. It had been such a long time she she curled up to a good book and a delicious cup of chrysanthemum tea. It was just what she needed: relaxation and down time. Besides, once the company begins budgeting next week, she'll never see her pillow for another twelve weeks._

_Rin lifted the whistling kettle from the stove and poured the hot water in her oversized pink bunny mug. She lifted the cup to her face and felt the puff of warm steam mixed with a gentle scent of chrysanthemum filling her senses. She looked outside from her open concept kitchen. It was a mess outside; she could barely see the adjacent building because it was raining so hard. Suddenly she jumped at the sight of lightning with a loud clash of thunder that followed._

_'Hmmm... Where was I last on?' Rin flipped through the book while curling up on her soft leather sofa. It was a thick hardcover bound Austen classic. 'Chapter... 5? 7?' She couldn't recall. Might as well as start on chapter 1; it has been so long since she's read it. It would be good to refresh her memories from the last time. She took a sip of her tea and her heart raced again when she heard the loud clashing of the thunder. The lightning lit the gray sky._

_"Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves." Rin read along the lines, she was fully absorbed in the text._

_'Oh, Mrs. Bennet...' Rin smiled at the silliness and desperation of the woman._

_"...that Lizzy does not lose much by not suiting his fancy; for he is a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing. So high and so conceited that there was no enduring him!" Rin read the text softly to herself._

_'Mr. Darcy... how Lizzy hated Mr. Darcy... Lizzy is so stubborn but then again, Mr. Darcy is a mule. A hard and emotionless but secretly sentimental mule... like Sesshomaru.' Rin smiled to herself. All she could think of was Sesshomaru right now. She loved him so much. He knew her better than anyone. He read her like a book. Rin felt herself blushing at the thought of Sesshomaru. There was nothing more than to be in his arms right now... feeling his lips grazing hers... and... Rin shook her head to snap herself out of her titillating thoughts. She had never done "it." Not even with Sesshomaru._

_'Focus, Rin, focus.'_

_Hours had passed; Rin was already on her third cup of tea. Lydia had run off with George Wickham already. Rin felt a sense of drowsiness; maybe she should go to bed early. She looked at the clock on her wall and it took her by surprise - she had been reading for a solid seven hours._

_'Wow.'_

_Rin sluggishly brushed off the canopy from her lap and walked towards her living room window to close the curtains before she headed for bed. It was still raining heavily. The rain had never stopped during the day. She glanced down from her large bay window to survey the empty Tokyo streets below her._

_'No.'_

_Sesshomaru was still standing in the rain. He was soaked through and through. Rin couldn't see clearly from her window but she was sure his skin had a tint of purple from the freezing rain. Was Sesshomaru out there the whole time? For seven hours? No... no he wasn't. He was. He really did keep his words. He never left the spot since this morning. Rin was in denial, Sesshomaru had probably left for a lunch break or something and now he was back to seek pity. No. It wasn't like him. He would never do something like that. Sesshomaru was a man of his words. If he said he was going to do something, he meant it. No... oh my goodness. He was going to die from hypothermia..._

_"Why? Sesshomaru?" Rin watched him worriedly and whispered to herself. Rin propelled herself from the window and grabbed her keys. In a second, she bolted out of her doors. "Oh... Sesshomaru..."_

_She couldn't help but to blame herself. She put him through hell. Was he going to stand there until he fainted or something? What if she just left him standing there overnight? He surely would have died. The elevator was too slow. Rin ran down the fire exit stairs; her legs couldn't have carried her faster from the 6th floor. With each step she took, she felt an increasing sense of guilt inside of her. Why was she being such a diva? She was the worst girlfriend ever. What if Sesshomaru came into his senses and broke up with her? She would have deserved it._

_"Sesshomaru!" she shoved herself into his arms. Rin couldn't let go of him. She pulled him closer to her petite frame. The rain poured down in buckets and she shivered when the wind made contact with her wet skin. She had just run out and now she was already feeling the biting cold. How did Sesshomaru just stand there for seven whole hours? She felt his cold breath against the side of her face. He had no body temperature._

_Rin pulled herself to look at his face; his lips were blue. His eyes were barely open. He had hypothermia. Rin's heart clenched. It killed her inside to see her love like this. It was almost like someone had just stabbed her repetitively in the chest with a blade. She felt warm tears flowing from her eyes. She couldn't contain herself anymore._

_"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Sorry, Sesshomaru! I'm so sorry!" Rin buried herself in his chest. Her light spring sweater was already soaked through and through. The thin fabric of her mid-length skirt clung to her legs. She was panic-stricken. She needed to get Sesshomaru inside. He was wobbling in her arms._

_Then he did the unthinkable: Sesshomaru got down on one knee. He tried to balance himself while he shifted to reach something from his pocket. He struggled a bit because he couldn't feel his fingers because his body was frozen from the icy rainwater. Rin watched him in silence and trembled while he built up the anticipation. There... he felt it. He slowly pulled the little box out and opened it with some difficulty. It was a diamond ring set in platinum._

_"Rin Hokkaido, I, Sesshomaru Takahashi need you in my life. Marry me. I'll take care of you. I'll love you. I'll cherish you for as long as I shall live. Just don't leave me again."_

_Rin's head throbbed. He was proposing to her, in the pouring rain. He had waited for her in the pouring rain for hours to ask for her hand in marriage. He didn't leave. Did he not know that she would have forgiven him anyways even if he had left? She loved, loved him. He had her heart and evidently she had his. Maybe, just maybe she needed him more than he needed her._

_"Yes! I will! I will, Sesshomaru!" Rin caught his lips in hers. His lips were freezing cold but he returned the kiss with such fervent passion. She intertwined her fingers in his hair and held onto him with all of her strength. He was hers. The kiss felt like an eternity. But she would spend the rest of eternity with him._

_After their lingering kisses he slipped the diamond ring on her fourth finger of the left hand. It fit perfectly around her finger. Perfect. It was going to stay there perfectly for the rest of their lives._

_"Now, lets get you inside," Rin cupped his face gently. He leaned harder against the warmth of her hand. Sesshomaru reached for the back of Rin's head and brought her face closer to his lips. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead._

_"Mine."_

_She grabbed his hand and shivered. They were like blocks of ice. Rin tugged Sesshomaru towards the front door. His movements were sluggish as his muscles were stiff from standing for so long. The elevator ride was quick. Before either of them knew it, they were already in Rin's apartment._

_"Let me grab you some towels and a change of clothes," Rin smiled at her fiancé. "You need a hot shower."_

_He grabbed her by the hand before she could leave, "Come with me."_

_Rin blushed furiously. Sesshomaru was asking her to take a shower with him? Yes... they had been quite physically intimate before but not like "that." They were soul mates. Yes, they were extremely physically compatible. His touches were like electric shocks: her body reacted even at the gentlest of his grazing. But she was brought up by her strict parents to preserve her chastity until she was married and Sesshomaru had always respected her wishes._

_'But we are getting married...' she thought of his marriage proposal a moment ago. There wasn't anyone else in the world she could imagine that she would give herself to. It was Sesshomaru; she could never deny him. Rin looked up from the floor in a haze and nodded at him._

_Rin was fit but not plump; she was always conservative in dressing herself. She wasn't sure how she would feel about exposing her nude body to her fiancé. Deep down, she was in a hot mess, 'what if he doesn't find me attractive?'_

_Just as she was getting over her fears, she felt Sesshomaru's arms around her shoulders, some of his temperatures had restored. He was full of more vitality now._

_"You don't have to do this if you're not read, you can take the shower first," he whispered to her with compassion understandingly. "Don't force yourself. I won't force you."_

_Rin smiled, Sesshomaru was always such a gentleman. She shook her head and replied to him, "I want to. I'm your fiancé now. Eventually..." Rin paused. She felt weird moping around like this. She was twenty-three already. She was a confident career woman with a fiancé who loves her. Why was she acting like an awkward teenager being pressured by her sophomoric boyfriend? Rin slipped her cardigan sweater off and unclasped her garment straps, the skirt and underclothes followed._

_For a brief moment, she wanted to hide herself or run away; she had never felt so exposed. Then, Sesshomaru reassured her with a tender kiss, "You are beautiful, Rin."_

_He surveyed her in wonder; she was perfect. Rin was more perfect than the Aphrodite of Cnidus. Her smooth marble like skin was more polished than Michelangelo's Pietà. Her beauty was exquisite._

_Somehow, her fears were melted with his reassurance. She felt her cheeks warming up as she reached for the zipper of his hoodie and zipped it down slowly. She grabbed the soaking wet fabric and tossed it onto the tiles and reached for his shirt. She didn't know what to do with it; she had never done this before. This was no playing dress up with her dolls. He let out a soft chuckle and pulled his wet t-shirt over his head himself, revealing his godly abs._

* * *

Rin was distracted by the old memories. Was he even the same man she gave herself to? How could the man who stood outside her windows for seven hours in the freezing rain become a cheater and a liar? He was her first love and her first heartbreak. Did he even mean his words at all? She had taken them seriously. She lived on them when she first found out about his affair.

His voice rang in her head. She remembered every single word. Every single word... _"Rin Hokkaido, I, Sesshomaru Takahashi need you in my life. Marry me. I'll take care of you. I'll love you. I'll cherish you for as long as I shall live. Just don't leave me again."_

For as long as he shall live... did he die a year ago? She let out a scoff. She loved him so much; she was ready to take him back if he just ended the affair and admitted to his fault. She wouldn't have cared. Their marriage was in pieces but she was sure they could rekindle the fire and fall furiously in love all over again. He wasn't entirely the one at fault. But to think he once said all those words to her... he had broken every single one of them by now...

_'Once a liar, always a liar.'_

She was so stupid. She was so young. He was older and knew more than she. He tricked her with his false sincerity. She had to protect herself. She wasn't good for her. Rin turned her glance at the man who was once her world, her everything.

"Sesshomaru, leave now. I don't want to see you again. You will be served with the divorce papers."

* * *

As per by popular requests. Oh gosh, I love fan-PMs. They just make me feel so much happier. If you feel strongly about how you want the story to go, message me and we'll talk :) I've loving these amazing ideas!


	4. First Time Without Her

Update! Yay!

* * *

Rin stared blankly at the wall facing her, she was expressionless but she wasn't emotionless. She could feel his pleading eyes on her. He was tenacious. He had always gotten what he wanted from her, but not this time. She had made up her mind; she's not letting take advantage over her ever again. But right now, she could feel her will power fading with each ticking of the clock. He wasn't yielding to her request and she realized that it was easier said than done. Every single logical part of her seemed to have shouted _'Rin, he's a cheater and a liar'_ but deep down she knew she still loved him, so much, so much.

"Sesshomaru, leave."

"Rin..." he grabbed her arm once again, almost begging her to change her mind. Sesshomaru never begged anyone. But now, he was pitifully begging for his wife's forgiveness. He was in visceral pain from Rin's rejection. "Give me another chance, Rin."

"No, leave. Now. I mean it."

She didn't have the heart to look at him. It hurt so much. It was almost like someone was taking a knife and slicing her heart open but keeping her alive so that she could watch it shaved into thin slices. How did they ever end up like this? She had great hopes for them but now nothing between them could be patched up again. She could never go back to being his perfect little wife and pretend that there wasn't a blemish in their relationship; it would always be tainted with Sara's shadows. Whenever she looked at her husband, it would remind her of that woman. It made her feel slightly better to hate Sara more than to hate Sesshomaru but she knew they both were equally liable. She clenched her fists; she needed to transfer her agony to somewhere else. She dug her nails into her own hand; Rin concentrated on the pain throbbing in her hand.

_'Sesshomaru... why?'_

She couldn't afford to give in to his pleading now. She clenched her hands harder; she felt her hand grow clammy and wet. A warm liquid was dripping down her hand and becoming sticky as she rubbed her fingers against another. She wasn't looking at her hand but she was bleeding and she knew it. For some reason, Rin just couldn't hold in her tears anymore; it was suffocating her. It was stifling. She needed release. When it came, it was catharsis.

_'Stupid, Rin... stop that... Rin... you need to be strong. Now you're just showing him that you're weak.'_

Rin quivered; she was shaking uncontrollably in tears. Her body was shivering with the hodgepodge of emotions. She felt pathetic. Sesshomaru was still there by her bed. No matter how hard she forced herself to stop the tears from falling, they seemed to have all pooled in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. It was becoming an endless cycle. She couldn't control her breathing, her rapid breathing made regulating her inhalation difficult. She hugged herself tighter and tucked her head under her arms to press her face against her knees. She just wanted to disappear.

Sesshomaru's heart clenched when he saw Rin in such a wretched state. She was so vulnerable, so susceptible to all of the hurt and malice around her. He did this to her. He brought this onto her. He was the one to be blamed. There was nothing he wouldn't give to fix everything up. But now, she wanted him to be out of her life. She wasn't giving him another chance.

"I don't want you to be here," Rin pushed his hand away from her and looked away once again, never meeting his golden gaze. Her voice was shaky and lacked conviction.

He would damn himself right now if he left her like that. He did many things that he wasn't proud about behind her back but now he was going to prove it to her that he was worthy of her and their unborn child. Sesshomaru shifted closer to Rin. She didn't seem to have noticed his advances. She was preoccupied by her predicament. He wanted to hold her in his arms and stroke her hair to tell her that everything was going to be all right. However, he knew that she would hate him even more if he forced himself on her. Instead, he reached for the tissue box and snatched two sheets of paper from the box and held it by her face.

"Here," he offered.

Rin looked at the tissue paper and turned her glance to Sesshomaru, "You broke my heart, and tissue won't fix it. Just go."

* * *

Rin Takahashi curled into a ball and rocked herself back and forth on the hard hospital bed. She stared at the blinds of the window; there was a light piercing through the curtains. It was either the streetlights or the moonlight but she couldn't tell. She didn't really care either. It was such a trivial matter. She buried her face into the down pillow to muffle her cries so the nurses wouldn't flock to her. The last thing she needed right now was all of this extra attention from apathetic strangers. She was vanquished; she lost this battle in reclaiming his heart and him. But did she really want him back? She would always be living in Sara's shadows for as long as she lived with Sesshomaru.

If she accepted Sesshomaru back into her life, every time she would kiss him she would always wonder if that was the same place Sara had kissed him before. Every time he would press his lips against hers, she would always helplessly wonder if it was the same tender kiss that he had given Sara Asano. Every time he would touch her, she would always be able to recall that he had used the same hands to touch his mistress. Rin brought her fingers to her left arm where Sesshomaru's grip had been before; she gingerly pressed her fingers against the spot - she could still the pressure of his hand on her arm. Rin shuddered with pure repugnance. His touch... it was contaminated by Sara Asano. It was... filthy.

She was in pure agony. Rin was upset. She regretted pushing him away, she wanted him to come back but now it was too late. She wasn't as strong as she thought she was. All this time, she had put up a facade for him to see. All this time... Even after she had made up her mind... she still missed his embrace.

Somehow, she convinced herself that if she had cried hard enough, maybe he would change his mind and come back to comfort her. She knew was being naive: he wasn't coming back for her. She had made it very clear to him that she didn't want to see him again. She was trapped in her own paradox. She hated him but loved him. The two polar feelings coexisted within her; she didn't even think that it was possible but it did.

The small size patient gown was still too large for her; it looked as if it had swallowed her whole. Her heartbreak was tormenting her. She wasn't okay. It has been hours, she was sure. She had been crying for the past hours. Rin felt physically strained; her body wasn't reacting too well to all of this stress she had been experiencing. She turned over to press her cheeks against the wet pillow. Her red and puffy eyes were sore from her salty tears.

Rin sniffed and rubbed her eyes; she felt a bit more rational now... just a tiny bit. She leaned in the pillow in pure silence. She listened to her own breathing and consciously made an effort to regulate her breaths. Each breath was contingent. She needed to focus on something. She could hear the ticking of the second hand of the clock in the room.

She brought her hand to her arm where Sesshomaru's hand had been earlier. She felt sordid with the thoughts of him laying his hands on her... Those hands, which had once touched Sara...

_'He did all of those things with his mistress... his tawdry mistress...'_

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

Then, she lost it. Rin grabbed the intravenous tube and tugged it hard, yanking the needle out of her arm and unhooked the monitors from herself.

_'I don't belong anywhere... Just let me die. This way, I'll be happier.'_

It was the hard truth but she had to swallow it. She couldn't live without him by her side even though she couldn't stand him. She hated to admit it. She would have never admitted to him when he was still around but now that she was alone she had enough time to think. She needed to find a release and hurting herself was the best way to do so at the moment; nothing was making logical sense to her. Everything was just a hodgepodge of nonsense. She needed a fast solution to her problems.

Then, she felt it, that gentle kick. Just once. A small kick. It pulled her out of her emotional destitution. Rin suddenly composed herself and waited for another gentle kick in her abdomen while sitting soundlessly on her bed. There it was, again.

_'I can't hurt myself. She deserves better.'_

* * *

Sesshomaru strolled along the night streets of Minato, Tokyo. The flashing lights of billboards and storefronts illuminated the wide Minato streets and the skyline lit the night sky in vibrant and lively colors. It was four in the morning but the sidewalks were still bustling with merchants and people. Tokyo was a city that never slept. Ever. Loud music was still playing; clubs, restaurants, and stores were still packed with people. Nightlife was just spectacular in Minato especially in the Roppongi Hills. He walked slowly and deliberately watched the young people who were hopping from joints to joints. Young single people. He pondered for a long moment and reflected on his single life: his bachelor days. Did he miss his single life? His life without her? He pondered for a moment. No. Not at all.

_'Really, Sesshomaru?'_ He did a double take for a moment and thought hard for an honest answer. _'I do miss her.'_

Now that he went back to think about everything it wasn't that his marriage was mundane. Rin had tried to ameliorate it many times. Instead, he was the source of the problem. He had rejected all of her advances.

He felt the multitude of people crashing against him as he made his way down the street; even with so many people around him, he was still lonely. So lonely. He would have to learn to cope with this loneliness because soon that's all what he would have left to accompany him: loneliness.

_'You still have Sara.'_

Sesshomaru cringed at that thought; why did... how did Sara come into his mind all of the sudden?

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and took it out to look at the caller ID on the screen: Sara Asano. 'Thinking of the devil...' Should he answer it or not? He was in a dilemma. He needed to tell her that he wanted out of their affair. He couldn't marry her like he promised before. He would be breaking two promises to two women in his life in the same day.

_Ignore._

He needed some time to think; his cloudy mind was unable to form coherent thoughts and make critical decisions at the moment. He was afraid he would make a decision he would regret later on. He felt his stomach growl. That's right, when was the last time he had eaten? He couldn't even recall. He stopped in front of a noodle shop; it wasn't just any noodle shop it was 'their' place. He and Rin had shared so many memories there. It was still bustling with people. He thought long and hard: did he want to revisit their past memories? Would this help him in anyway now that they were getting a divorce? This couldn't be good for his psyche but he was a masochist right now. Inflicting emotional pain on himself was his specialty at the moment.

He diverged from the stream of people and made his way into the noodle shop. The place was almost exactly the same has it had been before: red accent furniture, hardwood flooring, high tables... oh, and a new layer of paint. The fresh paint had completely changed the atmosphere of the restaurant. Despite the visual difference, the sweet aroma that had overwhelmed his senses as he stepped into the noodle shop was still the same. It hadn't changed a single bit.

"Sir, how many?" the waitress asked him as he wandered into the restaurant.

"Hmm 2," Sesshomaru replied out of his usual routine. It had always been 2: Rin and himself. Immediately he realized his mistake: he was alone now. "Sorry. Just 1."

"Right this way, Sir," the waitress led him to a single table in the corner of the room and handed him the menu.

He knew this place so well; he could practically recite the menu, "Large oolong noodle please, extra soy sauce. May I also have a warm lemonade?"

The waitress just smiled - this man was a usual customer, "Your order will be up shortly."

Sesshomaru surveyed his premises; he had never been here without Rin. Not even once.

* * *

_The office on the 38th floor was dim but a bright light still shone through the door in a small office down the hall. He glanced down his quartz watch again, a quarter past three. He yawned and stretched in sleepiness in the hallway: he was exhausted from reviewing all of the merger and acquisition contracts. He followed the light down the hall and grinned. She was still there. Oh god he loved that woman; he was getting more out of his money by hiring her. She had just put in 9 hours of overtime. She might just be his favorite and best employee._

_'That's not the real reason you love her and you know it. You love her because you just do.'_

_He had a stupid grin on his face. He was smiling ear to ear and felt himself jogging to her office door. He felt his heart pounding against his chest as he brought his hand up to knock on her door._

_"Come in!"_

_He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open before she could finish. Rin Hokkaido was still working. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun held together by a pencil. Her once neat suit was disheveled with the top button undone and she was nibbling on a stack of dry crackers while staring at 4 computer screens with excel sheets simultaneously. This woman was a workaholic and a miracle worker._

_Her face suddenly brightened at the sight of him, he could tell she was blushing, "Hey you."_

_He walked around her L shaped office desk and hugged her from the right, pulling her closer to his chest. She looked so weary and frail from all the hours of ceaseless work. Rin didn't now her limit; she seemed to always be working._

_"All work and no play," he teased her with his deep and soothing voice. "I haven't seen you for the past 18 hours. I miss you furiously."_

_She pushed herself up and gave him a kiss on his jawline, "Budgeting. Due in 2 weeks."_

_He shook his head and let out a deep chuckle, "Due to 'me' in 2 weeks. I can push the dates around for you so you don't have to work so hard."_

_"Nonsense, I don't want everyone to know that I'm getting special treatment because I'm sleeping with the boss," Rin whispered in her fiancé's ears and jokingly grabbed his collar to undo the first button. "Although I do like my special privileges."_

_He kissed the nape of her neck and rubbed his face against her chest while crouching down, "Hmm... you need a break and knowing you, you probably ate 18 hours ago."_

_"Hey, crackers are legitimate lunch/dinner/snack," Rin joked and leaned forward to reach for another cracker. She bit down on the dried cracker and the crumbles fell into Sesshomaru's hair. "Ha.. ha... haha... sorry honey."_

_He looked up into her eyes and gave her a deep growl and a devious smirk, "Now you owe me an early breakfast."_

_"But I need to finish this!" Rin protested as Sesshomaru pulled her up from her comfortable office chair. "I just have two more months to review!"_

_"Sweetie, it's Saturday morning already. We don't work on the weekends," he pulled her in and cupped her face to give her a quick kiss. "Let's go, grab your things. No work this weekend."_

_She knew better than to protest with him; she knew she could never win out of this one. Besides, she needed a very well deserved rest. She was beginning to have difficulties distinguishing the columns among each section. Rin held onto the desktop and slipped on her heels and logged out of her files._

_"I'm ready, Sesshomaru-sama."_

_He shook his head at her teasing; he grabbed her hands and led her out of the office and to the elevator. Her movements were sluggish from the long night work._

_Ding._

_"Ground floor please, Mrs. Takahashi," he was eager to call her by her new last name. Rin Hokkaido turned around to stick her tongue at him and reached for the button. His hands were interlaced with hers and as soon as the elevator door closed, he grabbed her wrist and pinned them to the aluminum walls of the elevator. She gave him a sultry grin and straddled her leg on his waist and tittered. He pulled her in to osculate her and gingerly brushed his lips against hers._

* * *

"Here's your lemonade tea," the waiter smiled at him. She was blushing at his handsome features but her face became ashen when she saw the wedding band around his finger. "Here are your noodles. Enjoy."

He nodded at her politely and picked up the pair of chopsticks. He leaned over the bowl and felt the warm steam rising against face.

* * *

"Oolong noodles! I love this stuff!" Rin shrieked excitedly when the waiter placed the bowl on the table. "My Mom makes it for me every single year for my birthday. You eat noodles because you want to live a long and prosper life."

He smiled at her adorable quirk: she had something interesting to say about everything.

He grabbed the can of lemonade tea and felt the warm can in his hand. He brought it to his face to feel its warmth. This is what she had always done. He didn't know why but she had done it since she was 5 years old.

* * *

_Rin Hokkaido sipped the soup base and put down her chopsticks and smiled at Sesshomaru, "Time for my lemon tea!"_

_She grabbed the tall and slim can in her hand and rubbed her palms on the warm can; she brought it to her face, "Hm... It's so nice and warm. Awwww... Feel this, Sessy!"_

_He chuckled and shook his head at her gesture. She was so adorable._

_"You've never, ever told me why you like warm lemonade tea so much. Care to share? It's one of my greatest mysteries. It's been what? Twenty years?" Sesshomaru was impatient. After all these years, she had never given him a straight answer._

_"Hmm... it's a secret," she winked at him and opened the can to take a sip of the warm beverage. "Maybe I'll tell you one day."_

_Sesshomaru looked dejected; when was Rin ever going to tell him? He gave her a rare and brief pouty face._

_"One day..." she gave him another wink._

* * *

Has anyone had the lemonade lemon tea? It's SO good... They come in little juice boxes as well. By lemon tea, I don't mean the yucky tea bag stuff... I mean the LEGIT lemonade tea beverage.


	5. Only the Beginning

Weeeee~ Another update! {Thank you, Eclipse for correcting me. Geezus, how did I get "onee" and "onii messed up? I usually identify them as "姉" or "兄" in kanji... sigh. Time to brush up on romanji... Sorry to everyone who read it the first time and were utterly perplexed xD Such an elementary mistake too...}

* * *

_"Sesshomaru Onii-chan!" the little girl ran towards the older demon boy with wide-open arms. Her little yellow backpack bounced against her back as she ran. She was gasping heavily for air and the small droplets of sweat trickled down her forehead but she still had a wide and silly grin across her childish face. She was so happy to see him. She always was. "Onii-chan!"_

_He was like an older brother to her. She idolized him. She had always thought of him as invincible. He had always been there for her, to care for her, to protect her. She loved him. So much. So much._

_"I want a piggyback ride," she hugged him tightly and snuggled into his chest. He smelled so nice. She tugged on the sleeves of his short-sleeved white t-shirt with her tiny hands and grinned while looking up to him. She had grown up with him and their families were quite close as next-door neighbors. He had picked her up every single day after school and she would always be waiting there for him by the front gate. "Now, Sesshomaru Onii-chan!"_

_"How has your day been, Rin-chan?" the handsome little boy crouched down to her level and patted her gently on the head. Rin was so adorable with her two little pigtail braids. She tugged on the hem of her orange sundress and cracked another smile. The little smug smirk across her innocent face made him chuckle. He adored her like his own baby sister. She ran behind him and hopped onto his back. He made sure she had her arms securely around his neck so she wouldn't fall off, "Hold on tight, alright?"_

_He leaped up and began walking effortlessly along the sidewalk out of the primary school's gates. Rin wasn't very heavy. In fact, she was almost light as feather to him. The blazing hot summer sun was melting everything away. It was a dry summer. The heat formed mirages of puddles on the sidewalk. He decided to take the long way home because the luscious leaves of the silk trees shielded them from the sun's rays and there was a nice breeze blowing from the north. The loud shrill droning noise of the cicada filled the park. It was just a typical Friday afternoon in a nice summery month. School would be over in two weeks. He watched the other crowds of students walking by them in the park. They too were probably seeking refuge from the sun's blazing heat. Sesshomaru enjoyed the nice silence for a while._

_Should he tell her? That thought had been haunting him for weeks now. He had been meaning to tell her a long time ago but he didn't know how to begin. It would break her little heart. Sesshomaru gulped and kept his glance straight ahead. He decided that the best strategy at the moment was to remain silent._

_'No, don't get all quiet now, tell her!' the voice in his head shouted at him. 'You can't hide it from her for ever. She'll know eventually when your parents tell hers tonight. You don't want her to be the last one to know.'_

_"Rin," he said her name, causing her to lean forth to him a little._

_"Hai, Onii-chan?"_

_"No matter what happens, we'll always find our ways back to each other, right?" Sesshomaru began hesitantly. There was reservation in the young boy's voice._

_Rin smiled and pressed her tiny chin on his shoulder, "Always. Even if we're apart, we'll be thinking of each other. "_

_"I need to tell you something..." Sesshomaru reached up to her arms around his neck with one hand. "I'm moving away in a few weeks. My father has taken the new investment contract. The family is moving with him."_

_He could hear the smile disappearing from her face as she whispered with hurt in her high-pitched shriek, "What? I don't want you to move away, Sesshomaru Onii-chan! I want you to stay with me!"_

_This was exactly what he had feared. Rin was suddenly in tears. He could feel her tears drenching his shirt on his left shoulder. He gripped the back of her knees firmer and kept on walking home. There was nothing he could do._

* * *

He lifted the can of lemon tea and brought it to his lips. The sweet and sour bitter liquid brought back so many memories to him. His most lucid memory of her was the way her face would light up when he brought her the warm lemonade tea. The tea used to always taste sweet to him but now he could taste the sourness and bitterness with his tongue. He never knew the pain would be so acute. Less than ninety-six hours ago he had served her with divorce papers but now he was missing her like crazy. They were once childhood companions. His fourteen year-old-self decades ago didn't imagine that their innocent sibling like love would blossom into romance.

He found himself thinking about the moment she walked into his office eight years ago. Lately it was almost like a broken VHS tape; it was stuck in his head. It wasn't yielding.

* * *

_"Takahashi-san?" the young woman knocked on his door. Her voice was mellifluous with a tint of confidence._

_"Come in," Sesshomaru was looking at the financial reports for the last quarter; his eyes had not left the page for hours. Dammit. The finance department had adjusted the budged material costs with a little bit too much optimism. Now there was a 1.1 million dollar difference in unfavorable variance. Did anyone around here have a brain? Where the hell was his CFO? He needed to knock some senses into that blockhead; he cursed Heiji mentally._

_'Useless moron. Stupid Heiji. Great... great. There's a direct labour unfavorable variance too. Dammit.'_

_She graced him with her presence and gently placed the white folder on his desk with both of her hands. She studied the handsome man for a while; he looked very familiar to her for some unknown reasons. But today was Rin's first day; this was her first time meeting their CEO. She couldn't have met him before. Strange..._

_"Thanks, you can go now," he took a quick glance at her to thank her. He knew that today was the first day of their chief accountant at work. 'Maybe she'll be able to get things right.' He wanted to go and greet her but he was just too busy. But at the sight of her face, that quick glance became a long gawk. Was that her? Her? It was. It was really, really her. He opened his mouth and dropped the fountain pen to the floor. He didn't move or lean down to pick the pen up; he just kept his gaze on her. Her features were different but her eyes were still the same. He could tell they were hers because they were one of a kind._

_"R... in... Rin..."_

_"Sess... homaru Onii-chan?"_

_She had grown into a woman. She wasn't the little child who used to nag him to give her piggyback rides. She had grown into a beautiful woman. That was an understatement. She was now gorgeously drop-dead, devastatingly breathtaking. She looked different than when she was 6 years old... but she was still the same Rin._

_He looked at her lovingly and the corner of his mouth perked up into a grin._

_He was now older and more handsome... Was this the same boy next door who used to bring her lemon tea every day after picking her up from school? Was he still the same boy she used to sneak rice balls to whenever his father punished him to kneel outside without dinner after he picked up fights to protect her? Was he still her Sesshomaru Onii-chan?_

_She dashed around his desk to give him a tight squeeze around the neck with her hug, "Sesshomaru Onii-chan!"_

_She had seen the CEO's name before but never had she imagined that it was her Onii-chan. She thought it was just another person with the same name as his. They had lost contact with each other for over a decade. Growing up, it was the ages without social media or online search engines. It was probably hard to imagine that now in the present but back then even phonebooks were rare and they didn't have them in the small district they lived in._

_He was caught off guard by her embrace. It was just so natural... the hug from her. He found her hand with his. Somehow fate had assembled them back together._

_"Hey, how's dinner tonight? To catch up with my little sister?" he flashed her a big grin. It would just be like old times again._

_"You know it!" she giggled childishly. Even after all those years apart she was still comfortable in his presence. It was almost like they never left each other._

* * *

When did he start falling for her? He had always thought of her as his little sister when they were growing up. He used to be so protective of her out of affirmative obligations. Sesshomaru let out a long sigh once more and rubbed his temple. He felt physically strained from his lack of sleep. For some reason, he had lost all of these past memories he had with Rin. They were almost forgotten, abandoned, lost.

Now they were whamming him; penetrating his thoughts all the time. He couldn't stop them.

* * *

_"I thought of you all the time, Onii-chan!" Rin took a sip of the cool beverage through the bendy straw and smiled at him once more. "You moved again and I couldn't find your number in the database anymore. I'm so glad to see you again. You're my boss now! I can't believe this! Can you?"_

_"We moved out of the country for a while. I miss you too."_

_He studied her intently. Her eyes were sparkling as she spoke. He was very amused by her expressions. His little Rin was now all grown up; he grinned at her once more and took a bite of his cheesecake dessert. They had been catching up for the entire night at the restaurant since after work. Rin put down her fork and ran her long fingers through her long brown cascading locks. She licked the corner of her mouth to clear her face of the cake crumbs and leaned forward to stare at Sesshomaru, waiting for him to say something._

_Sesshomaru froze._

_'Rin...'_

_"How's InuYasha? When you guys moved away he was just a little toddler! He must be what? Twenty... twenty something now?" Rin was excited to hear all about the changes in the Takahashi family; she looked down at her cake and separated another piece of it with her fork._

_He didn't know what had just happened. He wasn't listening to her anymore. He gulped down the cake his mouth and took another bite of the cake but his eyes never left her. That simple gesture of hers... was so... so... damned attractive. He surveyed her once more; this time he allowed for his eyes to travel down her neck. Lower... lower... lower... He clenched his hands into a fist. He felt his hands growing clammy. He was very uncomfortable in his trousers._

_For unknown reasons that he couldn't fathom; at that split second when he had looked at Rin differently... He thought of her as a blossoming young woman. After that moment, he couldn't think of her as his "my baby sister like friend..." anymore. He let his hormones take over._

_She put down her fork and grabbed his hands innocently and played with his fingers the way she had when she was six years old. She used to be so amused by his claws. She used to grab them and make sound effects while waving his hand back and forth. Don't ask why. She was a strange child._

_"Roarrrrrr," she took his right hand into hers and touched his sharp nails and made a funny sound. After a few more tries she finally gave up. "Haha, sorry Onii-chan. This used to be more amusing back when we were younger."_

_She wanted to put his hand down but he seized hers with his instead. He didn't know what overcame him at that moment that gave him the audacity to do so._

_"Sesshomaru Onii-chan..." Rin whispered and gasped at Sesshomaru's abrupt bold gesture. Her cheeks flushed a light crimson._

* * *

"Can I get the bill please?" he waved at the waitress and motioned her to give him the bill for his meal. He looked at his Seiko. Half past 5 in the morning. Thank goodness it was Sunday morning. He needed to catch up on some sleep. His biorhythm had been completely destroyed. He was supposed to be seeing Sara this afternoon.

Seeing Sara...

Suddenly, he unconsciously and unintentionally shivered. When did Sara become so unattractive in his mind? He was more than glad to have her the other day in his office before Rin's accident. What changed? He clenched to his forehead. He was going insane. He didn't even know how or what to think anymore. It was almost like he couldn't control his own mind. Sometimes he was rational and sometimes he wasn't. He knew he should love his wife but he couldn't figure out why he lusted for Sara Asano.

"Why? What's wrong with me?"

-vvvvv-

"I see that you're awake now, Rin," Doctora Arata walked into the room with a clipboard while making his rounds. He was delight to see Rin up and slightly more alert than before. "I would like to talk to you about your treatment, for your CML."

"I don't want to be treated; the baby can't survive chemotherapy and I'm not getting an abortion," Rin shifted defenselessly and hugged herself closer. She was becoming very chary and antagonistic as Doctor Arata approached her. There was no way she would give up her child.

"I know we've said there are no other alternatives before," Doctor Arata pulled out a chair to sit next to Rin's patient bed. "But there is a clinical trial with leukapheresis. It's a treatment without chemotherapy, α-interferon or imatinib. We separate your white blood cells and return the remainder of the blood back into your body. It's not going to cure you but it'll keep your CML from worsening until your delivery."

Rin gave her attention to Doctor Arata but the furrow from her brows hadn't disappeared. She had declined treatment before and she wasn't very open to other options.

"Rin, you will die in half a year if you don't receive treatment right away," the elderly doctor leaned closer to Rin and looked at her sternly. "There is a high risk of placental insufficiency with consequent below-normal fetal birth weight and increased fetal prematurity if you don't accept the treatment."

"What's the risk with leukapheresis?" Rin finally opened her mouth and her voice cracked as she spoke. "I want to know."

"There are no negative side effects, the worst thing that could happen is everything I've mentioned before," the doctor gave Rin a firm answer. "The treatment has no effect and it'll be the same as if you were left untreated. There was a patient eight years ago; she had CML. She underwent the treatment and had a healthy baby boy. She went into chemotherapy after delivery. She's 36 now and alive."

There was nothing else Rin needed to know. She had to live. Live. Live. Live. She had to live a long and fulfilling life. She needed to be in her child's life. Sesshomaru wasn't worthy of being her child's father. She couldn't let her child be motherless. CML was treatable and it was the only type of cancer where its victims could live a normal lifespan under intensive treatment. She looked at the doctor into the eyes, "I'll do it."

-vvvvv-

**Meanwhile...**

Sesshomaru sat in the restaurant in a secluded corner. He was playing with the hem of the tablecloth as he waited for Sara's arrival. He needed to tell her. He needed to tell her that he was sorry and that he couldn't divorce his wife anymore. He needed to tell her that he had realized that he could live with Sara but couldn't live without Rin. He didn't know how Sara would take this though.

"Sweetie! Hey!" it was Sara. Sesshomaru glanced up and forced a smile onto his face.

Sara smirked; Sesshomaru was so dashing and yummy in that crisp lavender colored dress shirt. She pulled out the seat across from him and smoothed out her skirt before sitting down.

"I was just at this bridal salon with my girls, you should really see this beautiful ball gow-" Sara was telling Sesshomaru all about her plans for their wedding until Sesshomaru interrupted her.

"Sara, we need to talk..."

-vvvvv-

**Two Weeks Later...**

"Takahashi-san, you're ready to go," the young nurse smiled sweetly at the recovered Rin. Rin's bruises were fading away and the cuts on her body were slowly healing. "You have an appointment back in a week."

"Hokkaido," Rin corrected the nurse. She cringed at being called by his last name. She had made arrangements with her divorce lawyer and Sesshomaru was going to be served with divorce papers later today. Actually, 2 pm to be exact.

The nurse frowned apologetically. She seemed to have struck a wrong chord with the patient, "I am so sorry, Hokkaido-san."

"It's okay," Rin realized her tone was overly harsh and tried to correct her previous attitude. She didn't mean it like that. She didn't mean to make a scene or start a conflict. She simply wanted to be addressed by her maiden name from now on in order to sever her ties with Sesshomaru, her soon to be ex-husband. She smiled at the nurse, "Thank you."

Rin Hokkaido slowly made her way into the elevator and sighed while she put down her small tote bag. She smiled and tugged on the cardigan sweater she was wearing to take a better look at the floral patterns. She was so thankful of her sister-in-law... soon to be ex-sister-in-law but still best friend, Kagome Takahashi. She didn't know whom to call until Kagome showed up with necessaries for Rin. Rin wasn't going to keep her ex-husband's last name; she was throwing away everything he had bought her; she tucked away her wedding band and that Mazarin cut diamond ring. She was rejecting all of her memories together with Sesshomaru and taking everything about him out of her life but... she was going to keep Kagome and Heiji in her life.

"A woman often thinks she regrets the lover, when she only regrets the love," she whispered the famous French author's words to herself. She let out a weak laugh. It was true. All true. So true. It wasn't Sesshomaru she regretted; it was their love. Six years, three months, and two weeks later... she was walking away with nothing but a broken heart, bruises, scars, and... she stopped. Maybe she didn't regret it after all. She ran her hands along her baby bump. She felt the little miracle inside of her and smiled. Her little miracle baby was a blessing. She was finally in her second trimester. This had never happened before.

* * *

_She clutched to the towel rack in the bathroom and crouched down in pain as she stepped into the glass shower. Rin grabbed onto the towel around her arms tightly with her free hand. She clenched her teeth and locked her jaws together. She knew what was happening to her, again. She knew this feeling too well. She whimpered silently. She could also be wrong... she silently hoped._

_"No... please... d...o...n't... N...o...No..." she prayed and prayed. She was about to have her heart broken and dreams crushed once again. This would be the third time. She couldn't take this again. After her second time; she was permanently emotionally damaged._

_Maybe if she endured the pain it should subside and everything would be fine again. Then... it became too much. The pain was overbearing. She could feel it shooting up her spine. The pain was unnatural. Her knees buckled and she leaned closer to her legs and her hand that was holding onto the towel rack fell onto the marble floor tiles. She suddenly saw the puddle of blood forming at her feet. Blood._

_"No... no... No!" she tried to stand up and bring herself outside. She needed to go to the hospital. Maybe if she got there fast enough, the doctors could save her. Rin stood up too quickly; the bathroom walls sprung around her. She felt dizzy and crashed into the counter, bringing down the crystal vase with her._

_"Rin! Rin! What's happening?" Sesshomaru dashed into the bathroom with demon speed upon hearing the shattering glass. He felt the air getting knocked out of his lungs at the sight of Rin on the floor. She was biting on a towel and blood trickled down her legs. She was sitting in a pool of blood and the blood didn't come from a wound from the broken glass. His heart sank. It happened again. He was disappointed and lamented for her miscarriage. However, he worried about Rin's mental state of mind more than his lost child. After her two previous miscarriages she was dysfunctional for months. Rin was finally approaching the end of her final trimester with this pregnancy but now this had happened._

_Rin was trembling in tears; she propped herself up in a corner by the glass door of the shower and hugged herself. Her body was still arching in pain, spine-chilling pain._

_Sesshomaru hurried to his wife and grabbed her into his arms. Both of them knew it was too late to save the baby. He clutched her body closer to him and pulled her head to rest on his shoulder. He could feel her body pulsating against his. Rin was broken inside._

_"Why? Why? I'm sorry... sorry... I'm sorry... sorry... sorry... I'm sorry..." she whispered over and over again digging her nails into his back. He could feel her shaking her head vigorously while shivering. "I'm sorry... sorry..."_

_He bit down on his lips. She was blaming herself this time. This wasn't good. It killed him to see her so fragile. So broken. He was going to comfort her. What could he say? He could tell her that everything was okay. He could tell her that they could try again. But he also knew that nothing but time could heal her. He wasn't mad at her at all; why was she apologizing to him?_

_It happened again. She lost their child. Sesshomaru must have hated her. She wouldn't blame him. She hated herself too. What kind of woman couldn't bear a child? Couldn't carry the child to full term? She was useless. She couldn't provide him with a child. She was angry. Angry with herself. Angry with the situation at hand. Angry at how useless she was. The fact that he was so understanding and sympathetic the last two times only made her feel guiltier. It killed her. She was choking on her own tears. She tried to breathe in his scent to calm her. It usually soothed her but it wasn't working this time. Not this time. They said that the third time was the charm. What charm? If the "charm" was referring to her getting fully consumed her fears. Yes, this third time had hit the spot._

_"Here... let's get you dressed and to the hospital," he kissed her on the forehead and picked her up gingerly from the frigid and wet tiled floor._

* * *

Even after a car accident the child was still developing, healthy, and well. Even with her illness, she would be treated with leukapheresis until her delivery at 36 full weeks of gestation. She was going to fight her cancer and keep her baby. She could do it - all without him too.

_Ding._

Rin picked up her light tote and made her way into the reception of the hospital.

"Mrs. Takahashi! Takahashi-san! Can you tell us? Is it true that your husband has already signed the divorce papers?" Rin made her way into the reception atrium only to be swarmed by reporters and the paparazzi. She felt the cameras flashing in her face.

"Did you know that Sara Asano and your husband will be getting married in Kyoto at the end of this month?"

"How do you feel about their lightning engagement?"

"Did he plan this car accident to kill you?"

"Were you aware of Sesshomaru has had a lovechild with Sara Asano for over seven years? You've only been married to him for six!"

"How do you feel about getting kicked out of your own home by your husband's mistress?"

"Is it true that you've already gotten the abortion? Is that why you're at the hospital today?"

"Can you tell us more about how you tried to set Sara's apartment on fire? Is committing arson really going to end the affair? What was on your mind at the time?"

More flashes. More clicks.

_Click... Click... Click. Click. Click._

Rin stepped back and clenched her tote bag in her hands. What were they doing to her? They were like hungry dogs prancing onto her; feeding off of her misery. They were making ridiculous accusations and assumptions. Lovechild? She may have been oblivious to Sesshomaru's affair at first but she was more than certain that he didn't know her for that long. Sara Asano didn't kick her out of her own home. Abortion? What the in the bloody hell of hell were they talking about? Arson? What the freaking hell was going on? They were taking pictures, crowding around her, yelling, screaming, and asking absurd questions. All those ridiculous questions and assumptions. Who did they think they were?

Most importantly... how the hell did they know where she was? Why the hell did they want to know about her personal life? She had just become someone you couldn't even find in the phonebook to the center of paparazzi and gossip columnists. Rin took a few steps back. Why wasn't the hospital doing something about this?

_'Someone... help me!... Help!'_

They shifted with each of her shifts, each of her steps. Their eyes were hungry. They all had nothing but malicious intentions. They were out to get her. She was suddenly their new doll. Sara... Sara Asano did this. 'Damn you, Sara Asano. Damn you.'

"Mrs. Takahashi? Can you tell us more about the terms of your divorce? Did you sign a prenup?"

"Is it true that Sesshomaru Takahashi is giving you 24% of the share to Takahashi Pharmaceuticals and all of his liquid assets? Can you confirm this?"

_Click. cliiiiccckkkkkk. CLICK._

_'Is all of this legal? Can they do this to me?'_

Rin was going to explode. She felt the tension growing within her. Scums. Vultures. Bloodsuckers. Racketeers. Hyenas. All of them. Damn all of them to hell. Damn them. She couldn't take this anymore; she needed air, space, and privacy. Why were they after her? Did they get some type of sick enjoyment from torturing her?

She swung her tote bag around her, aiming at the cameras around her. She made a small pathway for herself and fled as fast as her legs were able to carry her.

-vvvvv-

**Meanwhile...**

"Alright, everyone... that's it for today," the conductor chucked his baton against the music stand. The concert season was beginning in four months. The Nippon National Philharmonic conductor was anxious to get the score down but he had no luck. For some unknown reasons, the woodwinds section today was especially... difficult today. The director didn't want to do this but he just had to single her out, "Asano, will you please not miss the second entrance at the next rehearsal, please? As soon as you get it right we can sleep easily at night. I don't know why you're making such rookie mistakes."

Sara was startled; her eyes shot open and she snapped out of her deep thought when she heard her name. She looked around her; the orchestra was staring at her. The principal flutist, Kagura Imato was not happy. Kagome Takahashi shot Sara Asano a dirty despicable look.

Kagome Takahashi, the principal second violinist, loathed her. Kagome had never liked Sara. They were both graduates of the Kunitachi College of Music, Class of 2007, unfortunately. Sara had earned herself a terrible reputation during college. Now that she became a flutist at the Nippon National Philharmonic, she was able to somehow transform herself into a public figure; despite hounded by scandals and gossips; she was still a household name. Rumors of her and Sesshomaru's affair had broken out months ago; Kagome still couldn't believe it until she had visited Rin at the hospital last week. Now she despised Sara Asano even more. Further, when she had seen Sesshomaru last weekend at her in-laws, Kagome made sure she gave Sesshomaru the cold shoulder.

Kagome unscrewed her bow to loosen its tension and tucked her violin under her arms while she gathered her scores. It was still early in the afternoon; she could use a break and go visit Rin. Rin was coming out of the hospital today. The poor girl was going to move back to her old apartment, the place she lived in before she married Sesshomaru. Kagome had been using it as a practice studio for the past five years and now Rin was moving back in there again. Perhaps it was for the better.

Kagome smiled at the concertmaster, Myoga, nodded politely as he left and turned to face her best friend, Sango Miyake the principal violist behind her.

"So Rin's moving to the studio today, you wanna come with?" Kagome casually asked Sango while she placed her instrument back into its hard case.

"Yes! Like you had to ask me. I'm definitely going over. I still can't believe she's really divorcing Sesshomaru. Heck, I still can't believe Sesshomaru cheated on Rin with Sa-" Sango stopped in her tracks and dropped her voice into a whisper, "Speaking of the devil herself, why in the world is she walking over here?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes and turned around to see Sara walking towards her. Kagome turned once more towards Sango and rolled her eyes, "I swear if she comes over here..."

"Higurashi," Sara called Kagome with her whiny little demanding voice.

_'For the sake of kami... God I hate that woman. Dammit,'_ Kagome cussed in her head. What the hell did she want from her? Kagome took a deep breath to compose herself. _'Keep calm, Kagome... calm... calm... think meadows... puppies... happy thoughts...'_

"It's Takahashi to you, Asano," Kagome didn't even try to be polite with her. Sara didn't deserve her respect. Not after she had hit on the cute oboist Kagome dated back in third year and especially not after she seduced her brother-in-law.

"Oh, I guess I should start to get used to the name Takahashi since it'll become mine too," Sara laughed. Apparently something was just so funny... Kagome shivered at Sara's words, _'Her last name too... Since when did she get back together with Sesshomaru?'_

"Sara, do you want me to accept you as you are, or do you want me to like you?" Kagome asked impatiently and tapped her fingertips against the music stand. "If you need something from me, quit playing games and spill it. I have somewhere to be."

"It's Izayoi's birthday dinner tonight I'm wondering what to get her," Sara leaned closer to Kagome.

_'Not seeing you there will be the greatest blessing to her. What the hell? Why the hell are you going to be there?'_ Kagome furrowed her brows. Was Sesshomaru stupid? Why the hell was he inviting his mistress to oka-san's birthday dinner? Rin was going to be there too... As if having those two there wasn't awkward enough being in the same room already. Did he really have to add Sara to the mix?

Sango was growing impatient too. She knew Kagome would be too polite to reject Sara so she decided to step it up on behalf of Kagome, "Did Sesshomaru seriously invite you? Didn't he break it off with you like two weeks ago?"

Sara leered at Sango and Kagome; there was satisfaction in her voice, "Well then, let me tell you ladies that the make-up sex was amazing!"

Kagome dropped the stack of sheet music and scattered paper flew everywhere. Sango choked on her own saliva. Neither woman had respect for the moron anymore. Sesshomaru lacked a brain, principles, and morals. What the hell was going on around here?

"I thought you girls knew. Well now you do, see you tonight!" with that Asano headed for the exit of the rehearsal hall.

"What the hell?" Sango stared at her friend wide eyed.

"I hate them both."

* * *

What the hell is wrong with Sesshomaru? I thought He broke it off with Sara... Hm... I'm not happy with this.

Reader: "Why the hell are you so surprised, Helena? You're the freaking writer!"

Oh... that's right... Well, keep waiting up my lovely readers. There's more to come... soon... So much for the summer... I'm officially on vacation and I nerd-ed out at the public library all day yesterday.

Reader: "You were writing this fan-fiction at the library, Helena... geee..."


	6. A Series of Unfortunate Events

Writing this chapter was painful, I'm not going to lie. But... I've been told via PMs that you guys want the next chapter. Back by popular demands... chapter 6! I haven't read this over for the second time. My brain is in mush right now. I need a good night's sleep... I hope you guys are appeased by a new chapter. *head hits the pillow*

* * *

Sesshomaru Takahashi sat at his office table, staring at the small prints on the piece of white document paper in his hand. He read, re-read and spelled out each sound in his head while intoning it meticulously. It was a divorce notice served to him by his wife, Rin. D-I-V-O-R-C-E. He read it once again before he got to the minute fine print. The paper... her divorce lawyer issued it. Her lawyer was his own brother: InuYasha Takahashi. What was this? His own family was against him now. He leered despicably. But why wouldn't they be? After all, he had gone rogue.

His head hurt. Yes, it did. He had been suffering from an onset of intermittent headaches for an extensive period of time now but lately it had been hounding him more often than it did before. He clutched to his forehead. Dammit. No painkiller would alleviate the pain. He brought his other hand up to rub his face. His head was pounding. It hurt. He tried to get up but fell back into his chair once more. This whole predicament he was in was taking a toll on his health.

He stared at the paper once more and in a moment of frustration he crumpled the paper in his hand and tossed it aside. Divorce... He leered. So it had finally come to this. To his surprise, didn't bother him.

_'Just let have her way.'_

She hadn't contacted him in weeks. He had tried to find her but Rin had already changed her number. Damn that woman. Of all things he was certain about, one was obvious: Rin's mind had already been set on the divorce. She didn't want him anymore. She had already made it very clear. If she was moving on then so was he. He should be feeling dejected but he wasn't. He felt numb. Indifferent. Nonchalant. He couldn't care less about it.

Sesshomaru pondered for a moment. After his announcement tonight at the dinner, what would everyone think? How would his actions affect his position on the board in the company? How can he appease the elder Hokkaido now that he was divorcing the shareholder's daughter?

_Knock. Knock._

He raised his head to look at the woman coming in from the door. Sara strolled in with two large bags in her hands. Her high heels clicked as she walked on the hardwood floor.

"Honey!" Sara dropped her bags by the door and dashed in to cuddle up to Sesshomaru. She sat in his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled up. "I can't wait for tonight. I've waited for this for so long. We can finally be together now in public!"

She glanced down onto the floor and the suspiciously crumpled ball at the foot of the desk caught her attention. She separated herself from Sesshomaru and reached down to grab the ball. "What's this?" she sat back down on his lap once again and began to unfold the document. Her eyes curled up into a crescent moon shape as she caught sight of the header: "Divorce."

"So it's official?" Sara had excitement in her voice. It was a situation that had bothered her. She had been praying for this to happen for months. Sesshomaru had initially offered Rin divorce papers but she had rejected them. They couldn't get a divorce unless both parties had agreed. But now? Now, she was the one who had made the initial offer. This was perfect. It was all going accordingly to her plans. Sara had Sesshomaru all wrapped around her little fingers.

Men. They were so easy to manipulate. Sesshomaru was a bit more difficult because of that troublesome wife of his. But who was she? She was Sara Asano. She had always gotten what she wanted out of men.

* * *

"Okay, out of our ways," Kagome winnowed through the crowd of paparazzi at the front door of Rin's apartment. Sango swung her heavy instrument case to defend herself from the crashing of the tabloid reporters. "Damn those hounds."

"We're trying to get through here! Get the hell out of our ways!"

The reporters pooled around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rin.

"All of you, disperse now or I'm calling the police," Kagome held out her cellphone and threatened the paparazzi. This was all getting a little bit crazy. Even a month ago you couldn't even find Rin in a phonebook or on an online search engine. Now she was the cover girl of the gossip magazines. There was no one else but Sara who could have accomplished this.

"Let's not waste any of our time with these hounds, Kagome-chan. They're not going to go away. It's best that we don't attract too much attention on ourselves. Who knows what other crazy stories they would come up with if we get involved in this," Sango whispered to Kagome and tugged her sleeves. Kagome nodded. She had completely agreed with Sango. The paparazzi weren't just going to go away. If they wanted something, they had always gotten it. But after a while, they should eventually give up in pursuing Rin.

-x-x-x-

"They're all over the place," Rin sat down and handed two bottles of water to Sango and Kagome. "I can't deal with all of this right now. I am so scared of them. They're out of control! They were even waiting for me in the hospital atrium."

"We're here for you, Rin-chan..." Sango put an arm around Rin's shoulders and leaned closer to her.

All three women sat in silence and listened to the ticking of the clock in the room. They were content in each other's company.

"I..." Rin's voice was quiet when she finally mustered the courage to tell the girls the news. "I told InuYasha to send out my divorce papers to Sesshomaru today. It's over. Really over."

"I'm... going to be Rin Hokkaido in a few weeks," Rin brought her arm over to pull up the sweater draped around her shoulders. She bit down on her lips and gazed lifelessly at the coffee table that was draped with white linen.

Rin had draped everything in the house with white linen to protect the furniture from dust in the vacant house. She hadn't brought herself to remove them.

"Rin-chan..." Kagome watched Rin. It was heart breaking. She had never seen Rin so vulnerable before. "Is there still a chance... that... you can..."

Kagome's voice trailed off. She didn't know what to say anymore. Sesshomaru was not good for Rin. He had hurt her over and over again. Even she couldn't convince herself to convince Rin to stay with Sesshomaru. Perhaps divorce was the best thing for the both of them. This way it would all be less complicated. Sesshomaru didn't deserve to be in Rin's life.

"You don't have to come tonight," Kagome whispered to Rin while changing the subject. "You don't have to come. Sesshomaru will be there. Everyone will understand. Okaa-sama will understand."

"You know Okaa-sama would want me to be there, Kagome-chan," Rin forced a smile across her lips while shaking her head. "I can't hide for forever from Sesshomaru. I'll have to accept it one way or another. Why not start now? Tonight?"

Rin brought her hand to the small bump in her abdomen and smiled once more before she continued, "No matter how much I hate Sesshomaru. I still have his child. He will always be her father. She will always bear the Takahashi family name. I can't have a clean sever from him."

There was silence in the room as Rin stared at the austere white walls of her studio apartment.

"I can't," she whispered once more. Even though she had tried to suppress her emotions, a drop of tear trailed down her cheeks.

* * *

When the Takahashi have a family birthday dinner, they didn't do the affair justice by calling it a "family dinner." It was an official public event. All of the family's friends were invited. The terms "family friends" was used very loosely here because by "family friends" it included acquaintances, business partners, and friends of the family. Takahashi "family" dinners were always social affairs.

Kagome squeezed Rin's hand while the limousine came into a stop. Sango leaned closer to Rin and clutched to Rin's wrist.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Rin-chan?" Sango asked Rin once more before they opened the doors.

Rin looked away from Sango and stared the diamond bracelet around her wrist. She clutched to the white satin of her empire waist chiffon dress. Kagome and Sango had dolled her up for the dinner. She nodded in silence.

"No matter what happens, stay calm, okay?" Kagome reminded Rin once more. "I won't be with you the whole night because I promised Okaa-sama that I would stay with her tonight. If you stay with me you'll attract too much attention so stay with Sango-chan."

Rin nodded.

"Myoga ojii-san, we're ready," Kagome called out to the driver to open the doors for them.

-x-x-x-

Rin's mind was fuzzy. This was the first family engagement she would attend without Sesshomaru by her side. Would anyone notice? What would people think? Surely they must have seen the reports in the tabloids. Surely most of the guests would have already known about her broken marriage. Rin suddenly felt ashamed and insecure. It was only natural for her to feel this way. She didn't want anyone's pity. That was the last thing she wanted. She wouldn't be able to bear it. Rin wasn't a vain woman but she was dignified. Hearing people muttering about how she couldn't keep her husband and how she had been a failure of a wife would strip her of every bit of dignity she had left. She wasn't even competent enough to satisfy her husband and keep him around.

"Ah, Takahashi-san, Miyake-san, what a pleasant surprise! I haven't seen you in a while!" an unfamiliar woman approached them as Rin walked up the stairs of the hotel.

Rin realized that the woman was addressing her. How awkward,_ 'Takahashi-san'_... Rin nodded politely at the woman and panicked inside. Rin was startled and flustered.

"Rin-chan, it's okay," Sango turned to Rin and squeezed her shoulder before turning to the woman. "Likewise, Narita-san, likewise. I hope you will enjoy the evening."

Rin ascended carefully up the steps while holding onto the railings and surveyed the guests around her in the reception hall. She couldn't help but to notice the grandeur of the banquet room. Crystal chandeliers, exquisite catering, magnificently dressed guests. The banquet hall was exceptionally large with its high ceiling and balcony. This was a Takahashi dinner alright.

With any luck, she wouldn't have to see Sesshomaru tonight. There were hundreds of guests. What were the chances of her bumping into Sesshomaru? She wasn't going to see him tonight. But she was wrong. She looked over he shoulders to the right and... there he was, dressed in black on white, looking more dashing than ever.

In the crowd of dinner guests, her glance met his. His golden eyes were so enigmatic. For some unexplainable and unfathomable reason, they had always seemed to find each other even in a sea of people. It used to be their blessing but now that supernatural connection they had was a nightmare to Rin.

She thought she was strong. She thought she didn't need him in her life anymore. He had breeched her trust. She was the one who told him to go away at the hospital when he insisted in staying. She should hate him. She should hate him for everything he had done behind her back with his mistress.

But... She still loved him.

She had tried so hard to forget about their love. But as soon as she caught sight of him, Rin knew she was back to square one. Rin stared at him. He was always so glorious. So handsome. He had taken her breath away.

_'Sess... homaru...'_ she moved her mouth to say his name but no sound came out. Even if she did say his name, he wouldn't have heard it anyways from their distance.

Sesshomaru's mouth was agape when he laid eyes on Rin. His heart was precarious. How should he put it? He was ambivalent. Whenever he was away from Rin his emotions were detached from her but whenever she appeared in front of him he was helplessly attached to her.

He took a few steps in her direction towards her. He didn't know what he would say once he was in front of her but she was drawing him closer to her.

Suddenly it was like someone had pinched one of the nerves in his head, he twitched uncomfortably in pain and clutched to his forehead. For a brief moment the world seemed to have swirled around him.

Rin could tell something was wrong with Sesshomaru. She winnowed her way across the room to help him. She wanted to be by his side. To ask him if he was feeling alright.

Sesshomaru fell back and hit the unfortunate waiter behind him and the tray of red wine glasses shattered onto the floor.

Then she stopped.

Rin was frozen.

Sara Asano appeared out of nowhere and clutched to his right arm.

_'That's where I've always held onto him before,'_ Rin quivered while she brought her hand up to cover her mouth. Why was Sara Asano here? Who invited her? Rin didn't move or make a sound. Everyone seemed to have noticed the uninvited woman by the eldest Takahashi son's side. Everyone was staring at Sesshomaru and Sara. The room grew dead silent instantly.

Sara had noticed everyone's eyes on her. 'Perfect,' she smirked.

Then, Sara did the unthinkable.

She shifted her weight and pressed her lips against Sesshomaru's.

Clank. Not far from Sesshomaru, a guest had dropped her champagne flute. The sparkling liquid drenched the hem of her silk floor length dress, making the purple color of the fabric darker than it was before.

InuYasha stared at his brother and his mistress in horror from the balcony floor of the banquet room.

_'Sesshomaru, you bastard!'_ InuYasha clenched his jaw and clutched to the iron railing of the balcony. He turned to dash into the waiting room to find his mother.

All of the other guests' eyes widened.

"Isn't that..." A guest turned to her husband and whispered.

This woman... wasn't Sesshomaru's wife, Rin Hokkaido. In fact, she looked like... Sara Asano, Sesshomaru Takahashi's mistress. The tabloids' rumor was confirmed instantaneously.

Rin placed her other hand over her mouth. Tears were rushing down her cheeks like waterfalls. She didn't want people to notice her. This was the last thing she wanted. Even with both of her hands against her mouth, a small whimper escaped. Her body quivered and her knees weakened. A shooting pain shot up from her spine and her winced in pain.

_'No... no... no...'_

She shook her head over and over again. She had sent him the divorce papers already but the sight of Sesshomaru and Sara's lips making contact in such an important social engagement was too much for her to bear. Rin suddenly felt humiliated. She and Sesshomaru had been separated but their divorce had not been finalized.

_'How could you do this to me, Sesshomaru?'_

Suddenly it all dwelled on him. He realized what was happening. Sara had forced herself on him at his stepmother's birthday dinner in front of hundreds of family friends. Rin was here to watch all of this.

For the first time in two months, Sesshomaru felt rationality. Complete sense and rationality. He had total control of his mind. The past two months were a haze but now everything was suddenly so clear to him.

"Can we all welcome my lovely mother, Missus Izayoi Takahashi? Happy birthday, Okaa-sama!" InuYasha's voice resounded in the hall as Izayoi descended from the balcony floor of the banquet hall.

In an instant, the guests had turned their attention from the elephant in the room to Izayoi.

The woman in the purple silk gown, her features relaxed as her glance met InuYasha's. She gave InuYasha a thankful nod and advanced forward to grab Sesshomaru's arm.

Sesshomaru looked over his shoulders and gasped when he caught sight of the woman's grave face. "O...ka...a-sama..." he muttered hesitantly.

* * *

InuKimi Aiha was furious. The rims of her golden eyes were wet and red from suppressing tears of frustration. The purple silk of her dress swept the floor as she paced back and forth in the sitting room outside of the banquet hall. She had just witnessed the episode that had just occurred in the banquet hall with her son and his mistress half an hour prior. She couldn't believe it. She was enraged.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Sesshomaru?" InuKimi demanded an answer from her son. "I had to watch my son adoring his mistress! Do you have any idea how I felt?"

"Ok...aa-sama..." Sesshomaru's voice was weak. If the truth had to be told, he was afraid of his mother. Even his step-mother, Izayoi, was more pleasant than InuKimi.

"What is that bitch's name? I am more than disappointed in you, Sesshomaru! How could you do this to Rin?" InuKimi's voice was acrimonious. "I couldn't believe what I've heard before! But now? I fly all the way back into the country and I see this?"

She stopped pacing and turned to her son.

"Rin would not hit you, Sesshomaru," InuKimi raised her hand and thwacked across her son's face.

...

...

...

The sharp blow made a loud renouncing echo. "But I will. This one is for her!" It killed InuKimi to hit her own son but it had to be done. Someone had to slap some sense into Sesshomaru. She was his mother. It was her obligation as a mother to discipline her son when no one else would.

-x-x-x-

"Rin? Rin? Come here, honey," Izayoi pulled Rin closer to her. After dealing with all of the invited guests, Izayoi rushed over to Rin and Sango and Kagome helped Izayoi with taking Rin upstairs into a room.

Rin leaned closer to Izayoi's chest and sobbed. She cried. Cried... and cried. It was catharsis. Crying almost helped her ease her visceral pain. Maybe she shouldn't have come in the first place tonight.

"Sh... it's going to be okay, we're by your side, Rin. Well get through this," Izayoi cooed Rin and rocked her back and forth. "It's not good for my grandchild if you continue to cry, love."

Sango and Kagome watched Rin in silence. Sara Asano was probably over the moon right now.

There was a knock.

"I'll get it," Kagome offered and went over to open the door.

Inu no Taisho stepped into the room and had a concerned look across his face. "How's Rin doing?" he asked softly.

Kagome and Sango shook their heads. Inu no Taisho sat down beside his wife and looked at Rin apologetically.

"I'm sorry for what Sesshomaru has done, Rin," Inu no Taisho's voice was low and full of remorse on behalf of his son.

"No, Otou-sama, no. It's not your fault," Rin sniffed and her voice quivered with tears.

"InuKimi is with Sesshomaru right now. I've asked for the security to escort Asano out. Rin, we're not accepting her into the family," Inu no Taisho's voice was full of conviction. "Never."

* * *

_'So it has come to this,'_ Rin had a bitter smile across her face as she unlocked the door of her home. Her home? No, it was a residence she used to share with Sesshomaru. It had been a week since that dreadful incident with Sara at the dinner. Legally, she still owned this home with Sesshomaru. Emotionally, she couldn't bring herself to live in there anymore. She needed to come back to get some things. InuYasha had called Sesshomaru this morning to forewarn him that Rin didn't wish to see him so Sesshomaru was out for the day.

_'So many things had happened since I've last been there,'_ Rin closed her eyes and breathed in the familiar scent of the house. The last time she had left this house she had two bento boxes in her hands with hopes to surprise her husband at work. _'How pathetic.'_

She slipped off her shoes and stepped upstairs. She walked into their bedroom - the bed was already made. Rin stepped into the bathroom of the bathroom and flicked the lights on. She braced herself for any evidence of Sara's existence in the house. But when the lights went on, she felt a sense of relief. Everything was just the way she had left it. There wasn't a trace of another woman in the house. Rin turned the lights off and went back to their master room. She took a deep breath. The room only smelled like Sesshomaru and her perfume. It didn't have another scent.

_'Sara was never here...'_

Rin dropped her handbag and walked into their closet. This was awkward... what she was doing. She couldn't put a finger on it.

She touched the light and advanced towards her side. She would miss this spacious walk-in closet.

-x-x-x-

_"Okay, I'm ready for my surprise," Rin giggled as she stopped in front of the closet door. She turned around to look at her husband. Sesshomaru's eyes sparkled. He had a big grin across his face. "What is it?"_

_Rin had just come back from a weeklong business trip. From the moment Sesshomaru had picked her up, he had been hyping about the "big surprise" he had for her._

_He leaned closer to her and whispered by her ear, "Remember how I promised to build you a bigger closet?"_

_Rin's eyes suddenly widened. No way._

_"Well," he reached for the sliding door of the closet. "I've kept my promise."_

_With that, he scooped her by the waist and took her into the space and touched the light sensor. The room lit up and Rin gasped at her spacious new closet. Everything... was so perfectly organized. She surveyed the shelves... Sesshomaru had built her a 8-tier shoe rack. No way._

_"Well?" he opened his mouth to ask for her reaction. Without another word, she seized his lips. She didn't need to tell him how much she loved her new closet. She showed him instead._

-x-x-x-

Rin glanced to Sesshomaru's side. His dress shirts were shoved hastily into the rack compartment. They were wrinkled and disorganized. He was useless without her. Rin shook her head.

_'Enough nostalgia, Rin,'_ she reminded herself sternly. Rin moved towards her side and began rolling out her suitcase to pack up.

-x-x-x-

She was packing up her life into the suitcases. She finally zipped up the case with all of her winter sweaters and now she was going to tackle her skirts. How was she ever going to pack up her shoes?

Rin brought herself carefully down to take out another box - then there it was. A large elegantly engraved white box with a perfect five-inch lavender ribbon on top. She reached for the box and bit down on her lips. She ran her hands along the cover and held her breath. Then, she opened Pandora's Box.

* * *

_Every little girl had probably dreamt about their big day since they were young. Rin was no exception. Sesshomaru was busy in the morning so her best friends offered to come with her while Sesshomaru was rummaging through paperwork at work that Saturday._

_"She's coming! She's coming!" Ayame shouted excitedly while running out of the hallway of the dressing chambers. "Rin's first dress of the day, ladies and gentlemen!"_

_Rin stepped out of the room with a sweetheart mermaid gown with a small blush on her cheeks. Everyone's eyes were on her. She wasn't used to being the center of everyone's undivided attention. She shifted her feet slowly as the long mermaid skirt dragged languidly across the plush cream carpet._

_"How's this?" she asked her peanut gallery with a meek smile. She didn't really like this gown to be honest. It was a bit too... revealing. The white chiffon hugged every single bit of her gentle curves, hiding nothing. The sweetheart neck showed way too much cleavage. Rin played with her fingers nervously while waiting for an opinion._

_Kagome Higurashi leaned closer to observe the bride to be and rubbed her chin while giving her honest opinions, "Hm... It looked better on the rack. Next one!" She turned to her boyfriend, "What does InuYasha think?" The peanut gallery turned to the half demon who was dressed down from his usually sleek suits into hoodies and sweats. He was half a sleep on the comfortable couch. Kagome punched her boyfriend's shoulders and woke the poor man up._

_"What? What? What's happening?" InuYasha shot up for his spot and began surveying the premises cautiously. He was trying to adjust to the environment._

_"Well, if you were paying attention and not sleeping like an idiot, you would know!" Kagome shouted at her inattentive boyfriend and grumbled._

_InuYasha wasn't pleased either. He was at the law firm until the wee hours finishing up the papers for court next week. The irritated half demon finally decided to reason with the syndicate, "Why doesn't Sesshomaru have to be here? Aren't having you, Sango, and Ayame here enough? Of all men, you get Koga and me!"_

_"Sesshomaru has to work this morning to finish some work to get ahead so he can take time off for his honeymoon! InuYasha you inconsiderate idiot! He said he'd come over when he's finished looking over the contract! Besides, what would you and Koga rather be doing on a Saturday morning? " Kagome smiled and leaned sideways to hug the grumpy man next to her._

_InuYasha gave Koga a knowing look and both men gave each other an expression that could only be deciphered by practicers of the "Bro Code."_

_"It's not about whether you two want to be here or not, we need some good input from you gentleman about this gown on our lovely Miss Hokkaido," Sango interrupted the dual's telepathic communications. She then turned to Rin, "I agree with Kagome-chan. It doesn't matter what the men think about this gown... I don't even like it on my first basis impression. It's just not you. Next!"_

_Rin sighed of relief, "Thank goodness. I hated that one too. I'll be right back." Rin carefully took her steps back to the dressing room. "Here, let me help you," Ayame offered and took Rin's arm._

_-x-x-x-_

_"How's this one?" Rin walked out with a short and puffy white dress with lots of laces and puffy shoulders. The knee length dress bobbed as Rin too each step. It made her look younger than she was. Koga cringed. "I may not know much about wedding dresses but this doesn't look like one to me," Koga voiced his opinion about the dress._

_"What he means that it makes you look like a freaking Lolita doll," InuYasha leaned into the arms of the sofa with his left hand propping up his chin. Kagome shot InuYasha a death glare at his insensitive comment. He had just called his sister-in-law to-be a sexually precocious young girl. InuYasha suddenly realized what he had said and leaned forward to justify himself, "I didn't mean it like that! Oh whatever... This isn't the right dress."_

_"Well, the men have spoken. See, guys? You're here for a reason! Let's try the next gown, Rin-chan," Ayame tugged Rin's arm and led her back._

_-x-x-x-_

_Eight more gowns later, little Miss Rin Hokkaido stepped out of the dressing room once more. This time, in an empire waistline gown. She stepped before the gallery mirrors and had a look of horror in her eyes. She snapped around, "I'm not getting married in this gown!" It was a statement so definitive no one tried to champion for the dress against the bride-to-be. Rin observed herself in the dress once more while cinching the fabric, "I hate it. I'm only going to get married this once. Once! I need to find the perfect dress!"_

_-x-x-x-_

_Sesshomaru surreptitiously sneaked into the bridal boutique and approached Rin's syndicate. "Sesshomaru! Perfect! You're here!" Sango was delighted at the sight of Sesshomaru at the boutique. "About time, Sesshomaru," InuYasha punched his brother playfully as he took a seat beside him._

_"How are we doing here?" Sesshomaru asked the group while looking around at the boutique of wedding gowns. One seemed to catch his attention. He smiled. It was just so Rin. It was simple, elegant, and traditional._

_"No luck," Kagome shook her head at the hopeful groom-to-be. "She hasn't found the one yet. Do you want to go in and help her out?"_

_"Sesshomaru!" Rin dashed out of the room in a one shouldered white chiffon gown and gave her fiancé a tight hug around the neck._

_"Dress number twelve. I still hate it," Rin whined to Sesshomaru. "I've found the perfect man but I don't have the perfect dress to marry him in."_

_Sesshomaru grinned and poked Rin on the cheeks, "I think there's one that you might like."_

_Rin's eyes lit up, "Which one?"_

_"Go back to the dressing room, I'll bring it back for you," Sesshomaru grinned and gestured for Ayame to go with Rin._

_-x-x-x-_

_Rin stepped out of the hallway and made her way into the gallery mirrors and stood before her syndicate. InuYasha stopped chewing on the piece of cookie in his mouth. Kagome slowly gulped down the slip of orange juice in her hand. Sango's mouth was agape. Koga dropped his bag of pretzel. Ayame had tears in her eyes. Rin turned around slowly and stared at herself in silence._

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

_The boutique was silent. Only the clock on the wall continued to keep the time._

_It was an exquisite gown inspired by Cindrella's beautiful glass slipper. It was just as Sesshomaru had thought upon first impression - it was simple, elegant, and traditional. "It was Rin." The silky tulle ball gown with the cathedral train draped into a majestic pool around her feet. A thin taffeta of the dress was encrusted with small crystals. The sweetheart neckline rested right around her chest and the crisscross bodice hugged her waist perfectly._

_Rin covered her mouth with both of her hands and began to gasp._

_Sesshomaru walked over to Rin and gave her a tight embrace, "Is this the one, hun?"_

_Rin nodded and buried her face into his shoulder. She was trembling in tears, "Yes. Yes... Yes. This is the 'one.'"_

_It was perfect._

_"We'll take it," Sesshomaru turned to the dress consultant and gave her his credit card for deposit._

_"I will call in the seamstress in to take Miss Hokkaido's measurements," the consultant nodded politely and disappeared down the hall._

_"Aww... I was just enjoying this whole dress-trying thing! They have free snacks," Koga pouted while holding up the small bag of pretzels. "Look! This is the legit type of pretzels too!"_

_"Alright, excellent. Sango and I have to leave for our dress rehearsal now. Concert's tonight at 7. Everyone's coming, right?" Kagome got up and straightened out her skirt._

_He turned to Kagome and Sango and gave them a bright smile, "Of course. We'll all be there at our favorite girls' first concert."_

* * *

Why she was thinking of this? The day she had picked out the perfect dress to marry him? She clenched the white chiffon in her hands. Then something dwelled on her. Why was she moving out of her own house? Was she admitting defeat? She was Rin. Rin Hokkaido Takahashi. She was tenacious. This was pathetic... what she was doing.

Rin pushed herself up and ran to find the phone from her handbag. She pressed the contact on her phone and waited as the dial tone rang.

"Hello? Rin?" InuYasha's voice was urgent; he knew it was Rin from the caller ID.

"InuYasha," Rin's voice was cold and dispassionate. "I'm not signing the papers anymore. I want you to withdraw the divorce paper."

"What?" the half-demon asked almost in a whisper. He couldn't make sense of what Rin was saying. He had to ask her once more, "You want this, don't you, Rin? You want a divorce from Sesshomaru."

"No, InuYasha. I'm going to stay with him. Divorcing him would mean that I let that woman win."

* * *

Go Rin!


End file.
